Football / Second and Third Division Round-Up: Evans has Crewe climbing

DARIO GRADI has won plenty of praise but no trophies of note in his 10 years as manager of Crewe Alexandra, writes Rupert Metcalf. This season, though, his talented side are well placed to end their long wait for a title triumph: they lead the Third Division by six points after yesterday's 2-1 victory at Carlisle United.

Gradi has earned a reputation for developing young talent, but his match-winner at Brunton Park was Stewart Evans, the 33-year-old former Wimbledon target man who has forged a new career as a centre- half at Crewe. Nine minutes after David Reeves had given the lowly Cumbrians a deserved 24th-minute lead, the 6ft 4in Evans equalised with a header from a Shaun Smith free-kick, and he converted another free-kick to snatch a winner for Crewe 10 minutes from the end.

There were contrasting fortunes for two new managers at the wrong end of the Third. Steve Wicks, the former Chelsea centre-half, saw his Scarborough side slump to third from bottom after a 2-0 home defeat by Colchester. Darlington, where the former Hartlepool manager, Alan Murray, is now in charge, climbed two places to fourth from bottom thanks to a 3-1 win at Doncaster.

In the Second, Stockport's slip- up at Reading allowed Plymouth Argyle to move up to second place. Peter Shilton's side recovered from a goal deficit to overcome Fulham 3-1, with strikes from Kevin Nugent, Paul Dalton and Udo Onwere (own goal) satisfying most of a crowd of 15,609 at Home Park.