Yeovil Town came to Gresty Road, Crewe for the final stage of their festive tour, and despite conceding two late goals, came out worthy 3-2 winners.
Coming into the game, Russell Slade kept faith with the winning line-up from Brighton, playing Steve Mildenhall in goal, with the defence completed with Martin Cranie, Terrell Forbes, Terry Skiverton and Nathan Jones.
The four man midfield was made up of Arron Davies on the left, Martin Brittain on the right, with Chris Cohen and Jean-Paul Kalala in the centre, playing behind the flourishing strike partnership of Lee Morris and Leon Best.
And so the teams took to the field for the start of the match, and both got off reasonable starts, with Morris, Davies and Cohen seeing plenty of the ball for Yeovil.
The Glovers had the better of the early attacks, with Arron Davies having a decent chance on two minutes when he shot from 30 yards, with his effort going just a few feet wide of the far post.
They soon turned this pressure to their advantage when on five minutes the Glovers took the lead!
Coming out of defence Crewe gave the posession away, with Lee Morris picking up the lose ball and sending it onto the advancing Leon Best to shoot from 25 yards - the ball bending the back of the net! A dream start to the game! 1-0!!
Crewe tried to come back, and a few minutes later Nicky Maynard sent in a decent effort from the edge of the box, which went just wide of the far post.
Yeovil were always on top though, dominating the game in every way with some great attacks.
The 316 travelling Glovers support were enjoying every minute of it, and when on 8 minutes their side extended their lead the celebrations turned to total euphoria.
Playing some great football, Martin Brittain received the ball on the right side, and after a short run sent in a sweet cross for inspired Leon Best to rise above the huddled defence to head in his 5th goal in five starts for the club. 2-0!
It was the first time this season that a Yeovil player had scored more than one goal in a league game, and it was no more than Leon deserved as he showed how deadly he is in front of goal at the moment.
With the Yeovil supporters out of breath and perched on the edge of their seats expecting more, their team kept up the attacks with some blistering play from Brittain, Morris, Cohen and Best.
It was a joy to watch, and at the time a cricket score seemed to be on the cards.
However, as the game approached the 20-minute mark the home side started to come back with some attacks of their own, with some good play coming from Nicky Maynard, Luke Varney and Ryan Lowe.
And it was Lowe who enjoyed their best chance to date for his side when on 27 minutes he sent in a good free kick from the front of the Yeovil box, which Mildenhall did well to keep out, diving to his left, making a fine one handed save.
The Glovers were still the better side, and on 22 minutes had a good chance to make it three when Arron Davies received the ball in front of the opposition box, and advancing on goal sent in a good shot that brought an excellent diving save from Williams.
As the game moved past the half hour mark the Glovers started to turn it on again, with Best, Morris, Brittain, Davies and Cohen all playing well.
The home side were still enjoying some useful attacks themselves, with David Vaughan going close on 34 minutes, and Billy Jones having a great effort saved by Mildenhall from 25 yards soon after.
Crewe were looking a bit disorganised at the back though, and as a result the Glovers seemed the more likely to score the next goal, with Best and Morris proving a real handful in and around the box.
With this in mind the Glovers cruised to half time in a commanding position, having played some great football and clear favourites to go on to take the points.
Certainly as they listened to the boos of the home fans the Yeovil supporters sat easy in their seats, expecting more of the same from their team in the second period.
Half Time - Crewe Alexandra: 0 Yeovil Town: 2
Dario Gradi looked to change things around at the start of the new half, adding Michael O'Connor and former Yeovil loan player Lee Matthews to his line-up, with his side getting off to a reasonable start with an early corner.
The ball was cleared, and the Glovers got into immediate attack with Arron Davies, Leon Best and Lee Morris all showing promise of good things to come.
Gary Roberts went close for the Crewe on 56 minutes when he ran superbly into the box to send in a fine shot that brought the best out of Mildenhall.
In the next Yeovil attack Martin Brittain fed off Lee Morris to send a fine cross into the box to Morris again to go close with a header that sadly found it's way into Williams' grateful hands.
Yeovil were perhaps not flowing as well as they had been in the first half, but they were still comfortable, and in little danger of conceding their lead.
Saying that, the home side were starting to create more chances with Maynard going close on 59 minutes, Varney shooting into the side netting in the 66th minute, and Maynard again on 68 minutes shooting just wide from 20 yards.
The Glovers suffered a blow on 68 minutes when Terry Skiverton had to go off injured, being replaced by Scott Guyett, with initial reports suggesting the inspirational defender will be out for at least the next game, having had stitches just above his ankle.
The home side had been looking more and more dangerous, but on 70 minutes they had their enthusiasm well and truly dampened with the Glovers seemingly putting the game beyond doubt when they scored a resounding third goal.
With Yeovil in attack Leon Best advanced into the final third, sending the ball to Lee Morris just in front of the box.
The former Derby man lined up his shot perfectly, blasting goalwards, giving Williams no chance at all as the ball rocketed into the back of the net! Superb! 3-0!!
Yeovil continued with their attacks and looked as if they would add to their tally, but surprisingly it was the home side who were the next to net the ball, when on 77 minutes Nicky Maynard advanced into the Yeovil box to weave his way past a couple of defenders, and wrong foot Steve Mildenhall to send the ball into the empty net. 3-1.
With the impetus was with the railwaymen now as they attacked the Glovers goal with force, and amazingly they got another goal, when on 80 minutes Gary Roberts burst into the box to wallop the ball past the outstretched Mildenhall. 3-2.
What should have been a relaxing last ten minutes for the Glovers instead turned into a nail-biting affair, with the lads desperately defending what had previously looked to be an easy three points.
The Gaffer changed things now, and in an effort to tighten things up he added an extra defender in Anthony Tonkin, coming on for Martin Brittain, joining Wayne Gray who had previously come on for Lee Morris.
The Glovers twice went close in the final minutes too, with Davies shooting wide, and Best sending in an effort that went just over the bar.
In reality though it was all Crewe in the final minutes, as they attacked the Glovers box with force, with Yeovil doing just enough to keep their advantage.
There were a few scary moments, but the Glovers showed good character and hung on for what was a deserved win.
Despite giving away the two late goals this had been another good performance from Yeovil for their second away win in succession, and their second double of the season.
The victory insures that they enter 2007 back in the play-off zone and in an excellent position as they now look towards the visit of Northampton Town to Huish Park on New Years Day.
Full Time - Crewe Alexandra: 2 Yeovil Town: 3
