9th January 2021

Port Vale 3-0 Grimsby Town: the Valiants put on a much improved performance to end their winless run and give caretaker manager Danny Pugh three points in his first game in charge.

Pugh made five changes to the side as the Valiants reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. It meant Devante Rodney was paired with Tom Pope while Tom Conlon was handed the captain’s armband.

Early Grimsby pressure saw Pollock hit the woodwork but Vale made the visitors pay for that miss when good work from the returning David Worrall got the ball to Tom Pope and his knock-down was driven into the net by defender Shaun Brisley to give Vale the lead after just seven minutes.

The visitors had the ball in the net from a free-kick but it was disallowed for offside and the Valiants made them pay as they doubled their lead on fourteen minutes. More great work from Worrall saw his cross headed home by Devante Rodney. It was the striker’s seventh goal of the season.

It could have been three as the first-half ended but great work by Cristian Montano went unrewarded when his shot was well saved by the Grimsby keeper.

Vale made a change at the break as Scott Burgess replaced Rodney and the visitors had the majority of the early possession but without overly troubling the Vale defence. On the hour mark, Pugh’s side made the game safe when Worrall beat the offside trap and his cross was put into the net by Grismby defender Luke Waterfall with Tom Pope lurking.

The game was now safe but goalkeeper Scott Brown made sure there was also a clean sheet with a fabulous save on 77 minutes. Brown somehow managed to change direction to save a deflected shot.

It was a much improved Port Vale performance with more intent on display all over the pitch. The 4-4-2 formation in the first-half seemed to suit Vale particularly with Worrall and Hurst supplying Pope and Rodney. It was all caretaker Danny Pugh could have hoped for from his side and fans will be hoping for more of the same after the terrible performances of recent weeks.

Full-Time: Port Vale 3-0 Grimsby Town

Port Vale: Brown – Mills, Smith, Brisley, Montano – Hurst (Amoo), Joyce, Conlon, Worrall (Whitehead) – Pope (Robinson), Rodney (Burgess)

Subs: Visser, Campbell-Gordon, Cullen

3 Comments

Phil Yeomans
9th January 2021 @ 9:31 pm

Not to get to carried away but I’ve advocated for 4-4-2 for many weeks I believe we are still weak at right back until Gibbo is fit but the balance of the side looked better paticularly up front with Pope starting and it was a pity Rodney had to go off as a precaution. A good test will come next week against Forest Green.
Bob Norbury
9th January 2021 @ 9:48 pm

Vale’s confidence and desire to win returned today with some good all round performances. Montano, Worrall and Hurst have obvious ability and the rest of the players all know what the game requires. This was evident against Grimsby and will shine through as the season develops. However, this was against a struggling side and the real test will be next Saturday in the away match at Forest Green.

It was good to see Smith getting involved again in a workmanlike way and Scott Brown was back to the player that the team trust so much. Conlon reacted well to the captaincy and Tom Pope seemed to want to be involved again. It was a decent performance by a squad who have the credentials to perform well, but we wait to see if they are as capable against a better side as we know they can be if they put their minds on the game and play to their capabilities.
Maurice
10th January 2021 @ 6:54 am

Isn’t that better relief of the win more pleasanter weekend in the vale supporters house holds get the team back together again and let’s see more pressing up the pitch .Got a lot of ground to be made up on the league points tally especially with vale playing more games than any body else