CREWE left Perry Ng out of today's draw at Plymouth with boss Dave Artell confirming afterwards the club is "moving closer" to agreeing a transfer window move for the defender.

Artell dismissed a Cardiff City bid for the 24-year-old a week ago, but the Crewe boss told the club's official website he expects a deal for Ng will be finalised early next week. It is not clear whether that is with the Welsh club.

Ng was available again after serving a six-game ban and travelled to Devon, but it was decided to leave him out of the League One clash which saw Crewe extend their unbeaten run to eight games.

A second-half strike from Oli Finney, the midfielder's seventh of the campaign, earned the Alex a point after they fell behind early on to a controversially-awarded penalty sunk by Argyle top scorer Luke Jephcott.

Artell dropped Will Jasskelainen at Home Park and replacement Dave Richards kept out efforts from Jephcott and Conor Grant to keep Crewe in the game in the first half.

Artell admitted: "We can complain as much as we want but Plymouth deserved to be in front at half-time. But scored a good goal to get ourselves level and if there was one team that was going to win it then that was going to be us.

"Credit to the players as they responded well to what we asked of them and we were far better in the second half. There are not many teams that will come to Plymouth and get something."

Former Crewe loanee Grant won an 11th-minute penalty, which would not have survived a VAR examination, when he slalomed into the box past Luke Offord and tumbled, with Jephcott sending Richards the wrong way (11) from 12 yards.

Luke Murphy went close before the break, but it was a neat move in the 64th-minute which produced the equaliser with Mikael Mandron squeezing the ball into the path of Finney who slotted a left-footed finish into the corner.

Argyle finished with 10 men after Panutche Camará was dismissed deep into stoppage time after picking up a second caution.

Former Alex favourite Ryan Lowe believed his side created enough to win the game.

"We always knew Crewe were going to have a good spell because they are a good team. But I thought we had plenty of chances to win the game, if not two games of football. It pleases me the way we work up the pitch to create chances. But it will please me more when we start putting the ball in the back of the net more," said the Plymouth manager.