Sublime Alex rout Shakers
Schumacher was sent off for two bookable offences on Saturday as goals from Shaun Miller, Dave Artell and Luke Murphy rocketed Crewe into ninth place in League Two.
Another former Alex man, Efe Sodje, also had a bad day. His mistake gifted Crewe the perfect start after just three minutes. The defender’s block fell to the feet of Miller who drilled past Cameron Belford from 10 yards.
Clayton Donaldson was denied at the far post by Belford but the unmarked Artell doubled the Alex’s lead with a powerful header from the resulting 18th-minute corner.
Things got worse for the Shakers in the 62nd minute when Schumacher received a second yellow following a high challenge on Zola.
Murphy added a third goal, powering the ball into the top corner in the 71st minute, before Belford saved Donaldson’s penalty after Nick Powell had been brought down in the box by Joe Skarz.