CREWE continued where they left off on Saturday with an impressive allround display securing a 2-0 win at Oxford.

Goals from Mikael Mandron in the first half and sub Owen Dale in the dying minutes saw the Alex piece together impressive back-to-back successes.

As against Peterborough at the weekend, Dave Artell's side dominated the first half and then showed plenty of defensive nous to keep an Oxford side, who finally mustered some cohesion in the final third, at bay.

It was a sweet win, no doubt, for Artell, whose side endured some cheap shots at them when the pandemic took its toll on football, with this fixture at the Kassam Stadium previously twice postponed.

Tommy Lowery drove an early volley wide from a very good position as Crewe took control of the opening half.

Typically, a move down the Alex's dangerous left side opened up the Us and led to Mandron bagging his seventh goal of the season from close range (28) - one more goal than he scored in the whole of last season with Gillingham.

Oli Finney powered the ball into the six-yard box and the striker was there where it mattered, benefiting from a ricochet off a defender to force the ball over the line.

The Frenchman should have scored his second eight minutes later when Finney's side-rule pass slipped him clear of his marker, but he drove a left-footed finish over with Simon Eastwood off his line.

Oxford barely threatened and Karl Robinson needed to make a raft of changes to bring his side to life. It was the 75th-minute when one of them, Sam Winnall, posted the Us' first real effort on goal, but the substitute failed to take advantage and a left-wing cross flew off the wrong side of his head and looped over.

Omar Beckles showed the attacker how to do when he attacked Harry Pickering's corner at the other end as Crewe came close to killing the game of. Eastwood saved brilliantly before Mandron's follow-up was cleared off the line by James Henry.

Sub Luke Murphy drove wide as finally Crewe had to withstand some late pressure.

But in stoppage time two of their subs combined brilliantly, with Ainley's unselfish pass slipping Dale in on the right of the box and he drove a superb low finish into the far corner.

There was even time for Charlie Kirk to add a third, but he swept wide before the final whistle blew to herald a fifth win of the campaign for Artell's side and one which takes them up to 12th spot.

Oxford United: Eastwood; Clare, Moore, Long, Ruffels; Forde (McGuane), Gorrin, Sykes (Obita); Henry, Taylor (Winnall), Shodipo. Subs: Stevens, Mousinho, McGuane, Agyei, Kelly.

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