In the 1998–99 season, Crewe had a disastrous first half of the campaign which saw them almost midway point at the bottom of the table with just 2 wins from 22 league games and 11 points from safety. Even though they managed to get another couple of wins together; by 20 February, Crewe were still bottom and 11 points from safety with 14 league matches remaining and their First Division status was in severe danger of being lost. From then on against the odds, Crewe went on a superb run of just 3 defeats from their remaining 14 league games, winning 7 of them on their way to completing the great escape, the key result being a 3–1 win against Portsmouth which saved them from the drop.
Source:
[citation needed Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
Crewe Alexandra's score comes first [ 1]
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorers
8 August 1998
Norwich City A
1–2
15,016
Rivers
15 August 1998
Barnsley H
3–1
5,289
Smith (pen), Lightfoot (2)
22 August 1998
Bury A
0–1
5,073
28 August 1998
Bradford City H
2–1
5,759
Lunt , Collins
31 August 1998
Sheffield United A
1–3
15,922
Jack
8 September 1998
Crystal Palace H
0–1
4,977
12 September 1998
Stockport County A
1–1
7,302
J Wright
19 September 1998
Bolton Wanderers H
4–4
5,744
Little , Charnock , Rivers , Smith
26 September 1998
Bristol City A
2–5
9,810
Anthrobus (2)
29 September 1998
Grimsby Town A
1–1
5,024
Rivers
3 October 1998
Wolverhampton Wanderers H
0–0
5,759
17 October 1998
Birmingham City A
1–3
20,087
Johnson
20 October 1998
Port Vale A
0–1
8,205
24 October 1998
Tranmere Rovers H
1–4
5,080
Little
31 October 1998
Oxford United A
1–1
5,607
Little
3 November 1998
Sunderland H
1–4
5,361
Little
7 November 1998
Swindon Town H
0–2
4,489
14 November 1998
Queens Park Rangers H
0–2
5,001
21 November 1998
Watford A
2–4
9,405
Jack , Little
28 November 1998
Ipswich Town H
0–3
5,165
5 December 1998
Portsmouth A
0–2
9,800
8 December 1998
West Bromwich Albion H
1–1
5,007
Anthrobus
12 December 1998
Queens Park Rangers A
1–0
11,296
J Wright
19 December 1998
Huddersfield Town H
1–2
5,102
Jack
26 December 1998
Bury H
3–1
5,333
Little , Rivers , J Wright
28 December 1998
Sunderland A
0–2
41,433
9 January 1999
Norwich City H
3–2
4,782
Street (2), Rivers
16 January 1999
Bradford City A
1–4
12,595
Little
30 January 1999
Sheffield United H
1–2
5,243
Jack
6 February 1999
Barnsley A
2–2
15,377
Jack (2)
13 February 1999
Crystal Palace A
1–1
14,823
Walton
20 February 1999
Stockport County H
0–2
5,473
27 February 1999
Bolton Wanderers A
3–1
19,437
Johnson , Jack (2)
13 March 1999
Swindon Town A
2–1
7,434
Jack , Charnock
16 March 1999
Grimsby Town H
0–0
4,855
20 March 1999
Oxford United H
3–1
4,791
Murphy , Little , Smith (pen)
26 March 1999
Tranmere Rovers A
0–3
9,359
30 March 1999
Wolverhampton Wanderers A
0–3
24,197
2 April 1999
Birmingham City H
0–0
5,582
5 April 1999
West Bromwich Albion A
5–1
12,308
D Wright , J Wright (2), Johnson , Rivers
10 April 1999
Port Vale H
0–0
5,606
17 April 1999
Watford H
0–1
5,461
24 April 1999
Ipswich Town A
2–1
20,845
Rivers , Macauley
27 April 1999
Bristol City H
1–0
5,579
Johnson
1 May 1999
Portsmouth H
3–1
5,759
Little (2), Smith
9 May 1999
Huddersfield Town A
0–0
15,105
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
R3
2 January 1999
Oxford United H
1–3
4,207
Johnson
[ 2] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Left club during the season
edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
