DAVE Artell savoured a 'magical' late equaliser from Owen Dale - but was critical of Crewe's first-half showing at the Pirelli Stadium this afternoon.

Dale conjured up a superb overhead kick (88) to earn a point, but there were more regrets than joy at the final whistle as the Alex dominated without offering a cutting edge, behind closed doors again because of Staffordshire's tier three restrictions.

When Sam Hughes headed home Joe Powell's corner (76) it looked like it was going to turn out to be a very unsatisfactory short trip for Artell's men.

But Dale reacted quickly at a corner when Omar Beckles headed back across the box and the ball flew past keeper Kieran O'Hara.

"I told the lads at half-time that I was bored. It seemed like a training game and a passing exercise, even though we were controlling the game," said Artell, who handed youngster Travis Johnson his first league start as suspended skipper Perry Ng's replacement and recalled Beckles to the back four.

"It didn't look like we were trying to score in the first half and it's not all about possession.

"We were far better second half, although we conceded a terrible goal from a set piece, but then it's a bit of magic that has got us a point. It was a bit more than magic to be honest, it was unbelievable skill.

"On the whole, though, we're quite disappointed with how the game went. In the first half we didn't have any drive to win the game."

O'Hara thwarted Tommy Lowery before the break and kept out a low drive from Ryan Wintle in the second half, but Crewe didn't do enough in the final third and looked to have been hit by a sucker punch.

Goalscorer Hughes cleared former Crewe man Colin Daniel's errant header off the Burton line to preserve the home side's advantage. But with time ebbing away Dale's fantastic bit of work drew the Alex level for a point which was the least they should have got from this game.

The draw extended lowly Burton's unbeaten run to three games and boss Jake Buxton said: "We defended well and worked hard. It has taken an overhead kick of high quality to score against us.

"But we didn't make the most of our counter-attacking opportunities, although it's a good point because of the amount of possession Crewe had."