Murphy makes misery for Pilgrims
Luke Murphy hit a brace as Crewe inflicted a second straight defeat on 10-man Plymouth with a 3-2 victory in npower League Two.
Simon Walton's penalty gave the visitors hope after the break only for Ashley Westwood to net from the spot at the other end.
Substitute Matt Lecointe pulled another back for Plymouth but Crewe held on for their first home win since November.
Craig Sutherland should have put the visitors ahead early on but the striker dragged Warren Feeney's cutback wide.
Murphy then showed how it should be done, racing into the box from Matt Tootle's through ball and drilling in to the far corner of the net with 20 minutes gone.
He doubled his account on the stroke of half-time, picking up a loose ball before hitting another unstoppable finish to put Crewe firmly in the driving seat.
Walton pulled one back from the spot five minutes after the break when Adam Dugdale was judged to have impeded Feeney on the line.
But it took just three minutes for Crewe's two-goal cushion to be restored when Durrell Berry tripped Ajay Leitch-Smith in the box and Westwood tucked home the penalty kick.
Things got worse for the visitors when Pilgrims manager Carl Fletcher was then sent to the stands for telling referee Andy Madley what he thought of the decision.
Lecointe blew a great chance to narrow the margin but atoned for it in the 66th minute with a sublime turn and finish, but Crewe held firm before Conor Hourihane saw red for a second bookable offence in injury time.
Crewe 3-2 Plymouth: Match Report - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game as it happened.
Source: DSG
