Five thoughts after Port Vale’s away loss to Tranmere Rovers

Credit to the opposition – Rob Fielding shares some thoughts after Port Vale lost to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday afternoon.

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Credit to relentless Rovers

What a contrast in the quality of opposition. Vale easily swept aside a desperately poor Southend side last weekend but this was a real step up in class. Keith Hill’s side were deserved winners on the day. If it hadn’t been for a string of saves from Scott Brown then arguably the score could have been even higher. Veterans Jay Spearings and Vale nemesis James Vaughan were excellent while the pacy Kaiyne Woolery caused the Vale defence all sorts of problems. It’s no consolation for Vale fans, but Tranmere look a force to be reckoned with in League Two.

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Brown back to his best

One of the few positives of this performance was that, after a bit of a blip, Scott Brown looks to have returned to his best form. The goalkeeper couldn’t save the game for Vale on his own but he had damn good try at keeping the score down. On this form, there are few better League Two keepers around than the Vale veteran. The longer term problem for the Valiants is – who will eventually replace him and when?

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Vale’s defence has the shakes again

This wasn’t the finest game at the back for Zak Mills and Adam Crookes. I felt both struggled a bit with their defensive duties. It was unfortunate that the Vale were missing James Gibbons, so influential in the last game, but Vale clearly need more strength in depth. If it hadn’t been for some missed chances from the Rovers players and some good keeping from Scott Brown the Valiants back four could have conceded more than the three goals. Tranmere players found it too easy to get the ball into the box and too easy to find space inside it. James Vaughan’s first goal – when Vale’s defence allowed the ball to be crossed in from the right and the striker was allowed to turn to score showed Vale’s leaky defensive qualities in stark detail.

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And at the other end – a lack of chances

Like a broken record, we’ve mentioned lapses at the back and now we have to come on to the lack of service to Vale’s central striker. Kurtis Guthrie once again battled away but had one, perhaps two chances in the game. There was plenty of possession by Vale, some of it in dangerous positions, but it’s that final killer pass that is too often missing in Vale’s play. At least Jake Taylor looked sharp again as he found the target – it could be that Vale need goals from him and the likes of influential skipper Tom Conlon if they are not going to come from the man in the centre.

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What’s in a name?

In these Covid times, we should be grateful for any football and if that means listening to the “home” commentary team due to travel restrictions then so be it. The Tranmere duo were certainly excitably entertaining but I do wish professional broadcasters would do the basics. It’s a minor point, but surely learning the correct pronunciation of player’s names is a basic and shows some respect to the player and the team. If you’re unsure, how difficult would it be to ask the club or phone the local radio team to check? So, just for the record, Tranmere commentators it’s Devante (Dee-Van-Tee) Rodney, not Devant (Dee-Vant).

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