Wolverhampton Wanderers move half-way toward achieving automatic promotion as Kevin McDonald fired them into a 1-0 half-time lead over 10-man Crewe Alexandra.
With Wolves needing a victory to secure their Championship spot next season, it looked as if the Railwaymen had not read the script as Uche Ikpeazu saw his goal-bound effort well saved by Carl Ikeme after 10 minutes.
Wanderers grew into the clash and soon fashioned the game's best chance through Michael Jacobs, whose curling effort had to be tipped past the post by Ben Garrett to preserve parity.
Kenny Jackett's men should have gone ahead three minutes before the break, but David Edwards flashed his header wide of the mark.
However, the West Midlands outfit saw their dominance pay off in timely fashion as McDonald struck in the closing stages of the half to give his side a valuable lead.
Moments after the half-time whistle sounded, Chuks Aneke was red-carded for appearing to elbow defender Richard Stearman.
Shane Callaghan
