Marc Richards took his tally to three for the season with a double strike against Rotherham United on his return from suspension.

Micky Adams made one change with captain Richards returning at the expense of Sam Morsy, which meant Vale started with three forwards upfront.

The first-half saw plenty of chances for both sides but Vale took the lead against the run of play when Richards marked his return with a goal on 17 minutes direct from a free-kick. However, Rotherham keeper Conrad Logan would probably be disappointed he couldn’t keep it out.

And Richards doubled his tally on the half-hour mark when he latched on to a Tom Pope flick on to make it 2-0 to the Valiants.

The visitors then came close to opening their account but Grabban forced a fine save from Tomlinson.

Tom Pope almost made it three to the home side when he went clean through but he failed to net from a good opportunity.

Vale: Tomlinson, McDonald, Owen, Chilvers, Kozluk, Griffith, Loft, Taylor, Williamson (rigg), Pope, Richards (Little)

Subs: Martin, Morsy, Yates

Attendance: 4,983