FINALLY Dave Artell could savour the rewards of another dominant Crewe performance against lofty opponents.

The Alex boss and his players have returned empty-handed from trips to Hull and Ipswich where they have been worthy of much more than being on the receiving end of 1-0 defeats.

With seven wins from their last eight games and a team sheet bristling with some of League One's best players Posh's visit promised to be the toughest of all the games Crewe have played against the current top six.

Surprisingly, It turned out to be their easiest, but that was because of the sterling way they applied themselves. Crewe were quicker and smarter than the leaders, penning them in with attacking flair in the first half.

Then they were miserly with their defending in the second, such that Siriki Dembele and Jonson Clarke-Harris barely saw a sight at Will Jaaskelainen's goal and a two-goal cushion gained through a wonderful Harry Pickering free kick and a fine Charlie Kirk finish was never under threat.

Artell said: "Peterborough's front four are as good as any in this league. They have got some really good players which is why they are top of the league. But I believe we have also got good players.

"We have had the second hardest start in the league based on positions; we've played Ipswich, Sunderland and the lost.

"But I am fairly happy with what we've done so far. I'm happy with how with how we're playing and every game the players are getting better.

"We had attacking flair in the first half and showed defensive solidity in the second. I think only three teams have conceded less goals than us and the way we played in the second half you can see why. We're not a soft touch and we don't get rolled over."

Oli Finney had already gone close to opening the scoring with a header and a flashing drive when he was taken down by Louis Reed in full flight to set up the opener. Pickering found the bottom corner via the inside of the post with a super free kick from the edge of the box (29).

When Niall Mason turned a ball far too ambitiously across the middle of the park, Kirk was in like a flash and raced away before thumping the ball into the corner before he could be tackled (41).

It was no more than Crewe deserved as they had been so dominant. Ferguson's side remerged with greater intent, but they couldn't find a route beyond Luke Offord and Omar Beckles who were superb and arguably Crewe's best players.

Clarke-Harris' one opening was snuffed out by a fine tackle from the homegrown youngster. The visitors' best chance fell to sub Mo Eisa in the closing minutes after Jaaskelainen could only parry Reece Brown's long-range effort.

But the former Shrewsbury attacker mishit his rebound back at the keeper. In truth, Posh were well beaten and it would have been an injustice if Crewe's three points had been left in the balance at the end.

"Crewe thoroughly deserved their win," admitted Ferguson. "Throughout the game in every department, running, tackles and second balls they were way ahead of us.

"We didn't keep the ball well enough and we gave it back to a team who are good in possession.

"We were way off it and I need to find out why. We can't have days off as we've got to get as many points as quickly as possible as we don't know what is going to happen."

Crewe: Jaaskelainen; Ng, Offord, Beckles, Pickering; Wintle, Lowery, Finney (Murphy); Powell (Dale), Mandron, Kirk. Subs: Richards, Johnson, Lancashire, Ainley, Zanzala

Peterborough: Pym; Butler, Beevers, Kent, Mason (Blake-Tracey); Ward, Brown, Reed (Hamilton); Szmodics (Eisa), Clarke-Harris, Dembele. Subs: Gyollia, Broom, Edwards, Clarke.