New boss Matt Taylor says he is still learning about his players after Bristol Rovers endured some tricky second-half moments in a 4-2 FA Cup second-round victory at Crewe.

Taylor secured his first win in his third game since taking charge of the Pirates at the beginning of the month, but what looked like an easy canter to a third-round trip to Norwich faded in a jittery closing period at Gresty Road when the home side halved a four-goal deficit.

John Marquis, James Wilson and Anthony Evans all scored in the first half and Ryan Cooney’s own goal made it 4-0 before Elliott Nevitt and Aaron Rowe got the the League Two side back into the contest.

Taylor said: “It is not about me, but about the team winning games of football.

“I am learning about this group of players and the first 70 minutes was really positive.

“Crewe have had good home form, so to be 3-0 up at half-time was excellent. We have now got to work as hard as we did for the first 70 minutes of that game.

“I’ve watched a lot of footage and that is the best I’ve seen from us. We won the ball high up the pitch when we were able to get pressure on the opposition and we have got players of a certain talent that can put the ball in the back of the net.

“But while we were excellent in parts, we were not in other parts and a few things went against us which I was not happy with. We could have been 5-0 up and probably should have been with a penalty decision and the game would have been dead and buried.

“But they broke away and put the ball into the back of the net and we had a little bit of a stagger in the second half. There’s a little bit of learning we have to take from that, but considering Crewe got two goals back with a bit of time left I am pleased it didn’t materialise into something else.”

Crewe manager Lee Bell was frustrated with how his side started the game.

“We have too good a group of players to allow things like that to happen,” he said.

“There’s a lot to learn from as the goals we conceded were unacceptable and if we continue that trend then we are not going to be successful.

“Bristol sat deep and we got in behind a number of times in the first half, but the decisions we took were the wrong ones.

“We have got to get better and get better, but we have got players who are coming back to fitness and hopefully we’ll have a full squad to pick from in the next week or two.

“Our crowd have been brilliant and we wanted to make it as exciting as we could for them – I thought we could have pinched one more as well – and hopefully they won’t see too many performances like that or see us let goals like that in again.”

New manager Matt Taylor savoured his first win since taking charge of Bristol Rovers as his side held off Crewe’s second-half fightback to win their FA Cup second-round replay 4-2.

John Marquis, James Wilson and Anthony Evans all scored to give the League One side a 3-0 half-time lead.

Ryan Cooney’s own goal made it four before Elliott Nevitt and Aaron Rowe struck to get the League Two side back into the contest, but they could not pull off the comeback.

Marquis handed the visitors an 18th-minute lead with a superb solo strike. He intercepted a loose pass, weaved into the box, slipped past two defenders and fired into the far corner.

Rovers made the most of some poor set-piece defending by Crewe to double their lead in the 24th minute. Evans’ corner was allowed to slip through to Wilson and the centre-backhooked a low finish into the corner.

Marquis headed a good chance straight into the arms of goalkeeper Harvey Davies but Rovers soon extended their lead when former Crewe loanee Evans cut in from the right flank and drove an effort high into the far corner.

Crewe’s hopes of getting back into the tie faded soon after the interval when substitute Cooney guided Evans’ cross into his own net at the far post for Rovers’ fourth.

The Railwaymen responded spiritedly. Substitute Nevitt cut in and curled a neat finish into the far corner in the 65th minute.

And the deficit was reduced further when Rowe bundled the ball in at the far post after Joe White’s shot fell into the winger’s path.

But Rovers negotiated the remaining 17 minutes, albeit with some jitters, to book a third-round trip to Norwich.

Crewe head coach Lee Bell said his side’s 3-1 FA Cup first round replay win at Derby has capped off one of the proudest times of his career.

Bell saw his high-flying League Two side go behind early but hit back to outplay their League One opponents and deservedly book a home tie against Bristol Rovers.

Derby had scored two late goals at Crewe to set up a replay at Pride Park and it looked good for the hosts when Tom Barkhuizen scored in the fourth minute.

But Aaron Rowe’s brace turned the game around before Mickey Demetriou headed in to seal Crewe a fifth win in their last seven matches in all competitions.

Bell said: “It’s a really brilliant night for the football club. I’m proud to be part of it and I’m so proud of the players.

“I thought it was right that they won the game, I thought the game plan was spot on and they executed it brilliantly, which is credit to them.

“I’ve said to the players that these last couple of weeks with the performances are probably the proudest time I’ve had in football, to be around these lads and the staff, so we are going to enjoy tonight.

“It is some achievement but I keep saying we’ve got good players at the club and it’s a really proud night. We’ve scored five goals against Derby in two games.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne felt his side lacked urgency in their play as they suffered an early exit from the competition.

“I just don’t think we had any ball speed in our game tonight, we had loads of the ball but we didn’t move it quick enough,” he said.

“When we had opportunities to go forward and get at them we took the easier option and went backwards.

“It looked like they had more in them, that’s probably the nicest way to put it.

“We had plenty of opportunities to get a second goal but tonight we looked a little bit toothless.

“We looked a little bit leggy, I think it’s fair to say, and too many of the players weren’t on song, we didn’t have enough top performers to win a game.

“We didn’t have enough good performances to beat a well-organised, well-drilled, well-coached team in Crewe and congratulations to them, I thought they were very good.”

League Two Crewe came from behind to beat Derby 3-1 in their FA Cup first round replay at Pride Park.

Tom Barkhuizen gave Derby the lead but Crewe hit back through an Aaron Rowe double and a Mickey Demetriou header to deservedly go through.

Derby, who had scored twice late on to force a replay in the original tie, took the lead in the fourth minute when Lewis Billington lost out to Louie Sibley and he set up Barkhuizen to score from 12 yards.

But Crewe responded three minutes later through Rowe who fired a powerful 20-yard drive into the bottom right corner.

Rowe struck again in the 21st minute with a shot which took a big deflection to beat Joe Wildsmith, who had saved from Courtney Baker-Richardson seven minutes later.

Crewe goalkeeper Harvey Davies saved a James Collins header and tipped a Max Bird drive against the crossbar but the visitors were the better side and they scored again in the 65th minute.

Derby’s defence fell asleep at a corner and Demetriou headed past Wildsmith to book a second round home tie against Bristol Rovers.

League One Derby left it late to avoid an upset at Crewe as last-gasp goals from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Hourihane secured a 2-2 draw at Gresty Road.

Goals from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt in either half had swept the League Two front-runners into a two-goal lead and the Rams fell away after dominating the first period.

Crewe goalkeeper Harvey Davies saved Conor Washington’s header with his leg and Baker-Richardson cleared Sonny Bradley’s set-piece header off the line.

The Railwaymen were dangerous on the break and Joe Wildsmith blocked a Rio Adebisi effort after Ryan Nyambe lost possession on the edge of the box.

Tom Barkhuizen dragged an effort past a post and Washington curled over, but the visitors were caught out when Adebisi delivered a superb cross to the far post where Baker-Richardson finished in the 41st minute.

Wildsmith saved from Nevitt and Conor Thomas either side of the interval, but Mendez-Laing should have equalised when Korey Smith delivered a cross and the attacker headed over with the goal at his mercy.

Nevitt’s finishing, though, was spot on as he took Baker-Richardson’s pass and fired in off the far post in the 54th minute.

Paul Warne made a raft of changes and Kane Wilson’s lofted drive was saved by Davies at the near post and another Rams substitute, James Collins, saw a close-range finish chalked off for offside.

With time running out Mendez-Laing’s 89th-minute shot slipped through Davies’ hands to reduce the arrears and the attacker then set up Hourihane, who finished into the top corner in the third minute stoppage time.

Crewe boss Lee Bell was quick to disregard his side’s penalty misery after being dumped out of the Carabao Cup by local rivals Port Vale.

The visitors missed all four penalties as they crashed out in the second round with a 2-0 shoot-out defeat after a goalless draw in normal time at Vale Park.

Elliott Nevitt blasted over, Rio Adebisi hit the bar and Joel Tabiner missed from 12 yards while Chris Long saw his penalty saved by Connor Ripley.

Bell admitted: “It’s a real kick in the teeth to go out on penalties.

“Penalties are a bit of a lottery and tonight just wasn’t our night.

“The fans were fantastic and it’s just a shame we couldn’t get a goal for them.

“I’m so proud of the players and there’s so much to draw on. The players need to get over this quickly.

“It was important I delivered the message that I feel is right. We’re going in the right direction and we’re a transformed team compared to last year.

“I know what it means to the area this game, regardless that it’s a cup game and a stand is shut.

“I told the players that whatever happens tonight they needed to be clapped off this pitch and they did that.”

Vale got the bragging rights in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

Thomas Sang failed with Vale’s third spot-kick after James Wilson and Oliver Arblaster had scored the first two.

Boss Andy Crosby said: “These games are never easy.

“It goes to show that you get the rewards when you prepare properly and we’ve been taking penalties on the training ground for the last week.

“We’ve gone through a lot of detail in case it went to penalties and when you do that there’s less luck involved.

“We changed ends for the home supporters and thank you to the fans because I thought the atmosphere was great. The fans helped us get over the line.”

Crewe missed all four spot-kicks as they crashed out 2-0 on penalties to local rivals Port Vale in the Carabao Cup after the Staffordshire derby ended goalless in normal time.

It was a horror show for the visitors at Vale Park as Elliott Nevitt blasted over the bar before Connor Ripley produced a good save to keep out Chris Long’s penalty.

Rio Adebisi rattled the bar and Joel Tabiner’s miss ended their misery.

Thomas Sang failed with Vale’s third spot-kick after James Wilson and Oliver Arblaster scored the first two.

The hosts had the majority of the chances but couldn’t break down the Railwaymen inside 90 minutes.

Adebisi wasted a great chance to fire the visitors ahead as he poked over from close range.

Down the other end, Crewe goalkeeper Harvey Davies produced a good save to keep out Alex Iacovitti’s header at the back post.

Vale made a triple change to try and force a result but saw former Manchester United man Wilson’s audacious effort barely trouble Davies.

The Crewe stopper once again frustrated Wilson after Sheffield United loanee Arblaster found the striker.

Arblaster’s long-range strike flew just over the bar with five minutes to go before penalties decided the outcome.

Crewe manager Lee Bell praised his players’ penalty-taking expertise as they dumped Championship Sunderland out of the Carabao Cup.

Crewe pulled off a notable upset as they scored all five of their penalties to secure a 5-3 shoot-out win at the Stadium of Light.

Elliott Nevitt, Chris Long, Rio Adebisi and Joel Tabiner all scored from the spot, before Ryan Cooney converted Crewe’s fifth and final penalty to secure a place in the second round.

Earlier, Luke Offord had headed the League Two side into a first-half lead, with Chris Rigg claiming Sunderland’s equaliser midway through the second half as the game finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.

Bell said: “It is the most exciting way to go through. We practised penalties yesterday, but I think it was a really good performance, everyone put a shift in, as you have to when you come to a place like Sunderland, regardless of what team they started with.

“We were really well organised and showed some real courage when we had the football.

“I am absolutely delighted for the players in the dressing room, who are in there enjoying it now, and for the fans who came here tonight, and rightly so.

“We spoke about how important set-plays are in our division and we have to keep working on them and keep working on how to deliver new ones to the players.”

Sunderland exited the League Cup at the first-round stage, but it was still a record-breaking night for Rigg, who became the youngest goal scorer in the competition’s history.

Rigg also became Sunderland’s youngest-ever goal scorer when he fired home from the edge of the area in the second half to cancel out Offord’s first-half header.

The 16-year-old committed his long-term future to the Black Cats earlier this summer despite reported interest from Newcastle United and Manchester United, and after breaking into the senior ranks last season, is set to play an increasingly prominent role over the course of the next nine months.

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray said: “Chris Rigg belies his age a bit. I can be quite harsh on him, and then I sometimes have to check myself and remember that he’s just a 16-year-old boy.

“I expect more from him sometimes, but then I remember just how young he is.

“He played with real discipline tonight. I asked to play deeper in the first half, and he did that. Then I asked him to start breaking into the box in the second half, and he did that and scored.

“It was disappointing in the end because in the first half, we just seemed to pass round and round.

“We played against a League Two side with good organisation and commitment, but we should have had more to have won the game.”

Chris Rigg became Sunderland’s youngest ever goal scorer but his efforts proved in vain as they crashed out the Carabao Cup with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Crewe.

At the age of 16 years and 51 days, Rigg also became the youngest player to net in the competition’s history as his second-half strike cancelled out a first-half header from Crewe defender Luke Offord.

However, with the game finishing 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, Pierre Ekwah’s penalty miss proved crucial as Crewe converted all five of their spot-kicks to book a place in the second round.

Crewe came within inches of breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute but, while Jack Powell’s direct free-kick curled around the Sunderland wall, the ball rebounded off the base of the right-hand post.

Alex Pritchard went close with a set-piece of his own, forcing a smart low save out of Harvey Davies, and also aimed two more long-range efforts straight at the Crewe goalkeeper.

Nathan Bishop was making his Sunderland debut at the other end following a summer move from Manchester United and the goalkeeper was beaten in first-half stoppage time.

A corner from the right-hand side passed all the way across the Sunderland goalmouth, enabling Offord to head home at the back post.

The Black Cats equalised midway through the second half, with the Crewe defence failing to adequately deal with a cross from substitute Jack Clarke. The ball fell at the feet of teenager Rigg, who fired home to claim his first senior goal.

Ekwah struck the post as Sunderland pushed for a winner, but Davies saved from Bradley Dack in stoppage time to send the game to penalties.