Nottingham Forest finished the day in second place after an excellent performance which saw them dominate the game in all areas of the pitch.
Forest had an excellent first half and were frustrated by the woodwork no less than three times. It looked like being goalless after the first 45 minutes until a stoppage time goal gave them a much deserved lead.
In the second half Sammy Clingan got his first goal for the club with a free kick and Forest could have got more, denied twice more by the woodwork and also by some good saves from the Crewe keeper.
Forest looked lively from the start, producing some good football going forward, with Arron Davies looking particularly threatening down the right.
But it was Crewe who had the first shot on target, in the 7th minute, with their first chance of the game when Byron Moore shot from 25 yards out but Paul Smith had the ball well covered.
In the 8th minute Forest were awarded a free kick for a hand ball just outside the penalty area on the edge of the D but Lewis McGugan's shot was too hard and flew over the bar.
Nathan Tyson was denied by the crossbar a minute later when he made a break to pick up a perfect ball from Chris Cohen and sent the ball flying but it crashed against the bar.
And Forest were denied by the woodwork again in the 16th minute when the ball was ricocheted towards McGugan whose effort hit the post and then Luke Chambers hit the rebound wide.
Cohen reacted quickly when he got on the end of a Tyson flick, saw the keeper off his line and lobbed the ball from 40 yards and it was only just wide.
Luck was against Forest again when, from KrisCommons' cross, Davies produced a great shot from 12 yards but Ben Williams just got a hand to it and the ball once again crashed off the bar.
The away supporters thought they had taken the lead when Neil Cox headed in but at least three Crewe players were offside at the time.
There were less chances for Forest as the half progressed with the occasional cross going astray.
Crewe defended in numbers but looked dangerous on the odd occasion they did get forward.
Tyson produced a late chance as his pace broke the Crewe defence apart but his effort from 12 yards was just over the bar.
But Forest finally took the lead they deserved in the first minute of stoppage time. Commons picked up Julian Bennet's ball, cut inside and crossed to Davies who sent a powerful, low shot from 22 yards past a diving Williams into the bottom corner.
Crewe were again offside when Simon Church put the ball in the back of the net in the opening minute of the second half.
Church was on target a few minutes later but he sent the ball straight at Smith who had an easy save to make.
Forest were awarded a free kick just two yards outside the penalty area when Tyson was brought down by Danny Woodards.
Sammy Clingan looked cool and collected as he sent the ball flying around the wall and low into the corner of the net for his first Forest goal.
Excellent work by McGugan almost produced a third goal and Williams did well to stop the ball but it came off the crossbar and Crewe had to defend well to prevent the rebound from going in.
Forest piled the pressure on Crewe and hit the crossbar for a fifth time with a header from Chambers. The ball came out to Tyson whose effort was brilliantly cleared off the line by Woodards.
Crewe had a rare chance when Gary Roberts' ball opened up the Forest defence but Bennett got back and did well to block Moore's shot.
Patient build-up work by Forest gave them another chance when Davies shot from the edge of the box to force yet another save from the Crewe keeper.
And Clingan fancied his chance of another goal, sending the ball flying from some 30 yards and Williams had to jump to tip the ball over for a corner.
Davies received a standing ovation for his excellent performance when he was replaced by Grant Holt with 15 minutes remaining.
Forest continued to push forward in the closing stages of the game with Tyson coming close on a couple of occasions but they were unable to add to their goal tally.
Nottingham Forest: Paul Smith, Luke Chambers, Kelvin Wilson, Ian Breckin(C), Julian Bennett, Lewis McGugan(Wes Morgan, 85min), Sammy Clingan, Arron Davies(Grant Holt, 75min), Chris Cohen, Kris Commons, Nathan Tyson,
Subs not used: Dale Roberts, Neil Lennon, Junior Agogo,
Scorer: Davies 45min, Clingan 52min,
Crewe: Ben Williams, Danny Woodards, Billy Jones, Gary Roberts, Neil Cox (C)(Michael O'Connor 75min), Ryan Lowe(Cedric Baseya76min), Ben Rix, Chris McCready, Byron Moore, Simon Church, David Gray(Elliott Bennett 80min)
Subs not used: Nicky Maynard, Matt Bailey,
Bookings: Woodards 51min
Referee: M Oliver
Attendance: 16,650 away attn: 457
