The Pirates never recovered after conceding twice in the opening six minutes. A-Jay Leitch-Smith and Kelvin Mellor put the home side in command, and Harry Davis added a third goal from the penalty spot early in the second half.
Though Matthew Lund rattled Crewe's crossbar with a second-half header, that was the closest the Pirates were to come to a goal on a disappointing afternoon.
Striker Leitch-Smith had given his side a second-minute lead when the Railwaymen steamed to a 5-2 win at the Memorial Stadium on New Year's Eve – and he was to summon up a repeat.
There was an element of luck about his goal this time, for Tom Parkes moved in to try and block the shot when the marksman received the ball off Nick Powell.
But his angled strike deflected off the Pirates' on-loan defender and looped over keeper Scott Bevan before nestling in the far corner of the net.
Rovers may have been able to claim a touch of misfortune when it came to the opener, but there could be no excuses for the basic defensive error which allowed the home side to extend their lead four minutes later.
Ashley Westwood floated a free kick into the Pirates' box, and Mellor – who was left unmarked – needed no second invitation as he steered a header past Bevan from 10 yards.
At that stage, the Rovers keeper – who had conceded four times before the break in that earlier meeting between the teams – must have feared that a similar humiliation could be on the cards.
But he managed to prevent a third goal moments later when Luke Murphy burst clear, advancing to get just enough on the ball to divert it behind for a corner.
It was 13 minutes before shell-shocked Rovers managed an attack of any note. Matt Harrold seized on a mistake at the back and let fly with low right-foot shot from 22 yards, but former Pirates keeper Steve Phillips dived to his right and touched it around the post.
Phillips also grasped a low shot from Gary Sawyer before Bevan was called into action again just before the half-hour, when he was forced to tip over a header from Billy Bodin after the winger latched onto a half-clearance by Cian Bolger.
Rovers did come into the game more as the half wore on, but were unable to turn possession into chances.
Harrold twice saw the ball run away from him at crucial moments, and Eliot Richards sent a curling right-footed shot from the edge of the box inches wide of an upright.
At the other end, Danny Woodards nodded the ball off the line just before the interval as Leitch-Smith threatened to add his second goal of the game.
But Crewe didn't need much of the second half to add to their lead. Barely four minutes after the re-start, Danny Woodards brought down Powell from behind and referee Fred Graham had little alternative but to point to the spot.
Bevan had saved a spot kick in his previous outing against the Gills, but was sent the wrong way this time as Harry Davis calmly tucked the penalty to the keeper's left.
And the home side were soon looking to extend their lead, Powell getting the better of Gill before jinking into the box and firing a diagonal shot across the face of goal.
Matthew Lund had Phillips scrambling across his goal from a long-range free kick, but the ball was a couple of yards wide of the target – then the on-loan midfielder rattled the roof of the stand with a snapshot from the edge of the box.
But the on-loan Stoke City youngster went far closer in the 71st minute with a header from a Harrold cross which rattled Crewe's crossbar.
Crewe were still looking by far the more dangerous of the two teams, however, and almost netted a fourth when another slick, passing move sliced open the visitors' rearguard – only for Bodin to miscue badly in front of goal.
The Pirates tried to bolster their front line by bringing on Joe Anyinsah and Chris Zebroski, but were still unable to make much headway up front.
When Harrold did finally manage to round Phillips in the final move of the game, he was thwarted by a well-times tackle from Adam Dugdale.
Crewe: Phillips, Davis, Westwood, Artell, Dugdale, Murphy, Leitch-Smith (Clayton 74), Moore (Shelley 74), Mellor, Powell, Bodin (Brown 88). Subs: Martin (gk), Bell.
Bristol Rovers: Bevan, Woodards, Bolger, Downes, Parkes, Sawyer (Anyinsah 62), Smith, Lund, Gill, Richards, Harrold. Subs: Stanley, L Brown, Zebroski, Dorman.
4,149 (323 Rovers fans)
Source: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/time-Crewe-3-Bristol-Rovers-0/story-15762922-detail/story.html
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