Sutton Utd 4-3 Port Vale: Valiants lose dramatic seven goal thriller
Sutton Utd 4-3 Port Vale: another dramatic finish to a game saw a different result as Vale ended up losing 4-3 to Sutton on Saturday afternoon.
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Manager Darrell Clarke named an unchanged squad and Vale started strongly with James Wilson mis-kicking from a corner routine.
The Valiants didn’t seem to rue that miss as they surged into a 2-0 lead. Jamie Proctor, who was in top form, crossed a lovely ball for Nathan Smith to head Vale into the lead. Minutes later, it was Proctor who doubled their advantage after good work from Tom Conlon and James Gibbons.
Sutton looked outclassed at that point but they came back into the game when a Milsom drive was deflected past Covolan on 35 minutes. It finished 2-1 to Vale at the break with Darrell Clarke’s side looking good value for their lead.
Half-time: Sutton Utd 1-2 Port Vale
It proved a different matter in the second-half. Sutton came back into the game and Vale would rue a number of half chances for Wilson and Worrall.
The game possibly changed after a double substitution for Vale. George Lloyd and David Amoo came on for James Wilson and baffingly for Proctor, arguably Vale’s best player on the day.
The home side equalised on the 70 minute mark when the ball went in off Garrity’s head although the midfielder could do little about it.
However, Vale looked to have won it seven minutes later when Tom Conlon scored his first League goal of the season from Worrall’s corner. But the home side would soon force a dramatic finale.
The Valiants would rue their defending from throw-ins as Randall headed home on 87 minutes and then, following chaos in the box, Rowe found the bak of the net from close range to seal all three points for the home side. The Valiants complained bitterly about both decisions that had led to the late goals but regardless of that decision their defending needed to be better.
It was a galling defeat for Clarke and his side. It was strange to see Proctor subbed after his impressive play and Vale definitely missed his hold-up play in the last quarter of the game. The defence will need to bounce back from their late lapses while the manager may regret his decision to replace both strikers.
Full-time: Sutton Utd 4-3 Port Vale
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Match stats
Port Vale: Covolan; Cass, Smith, Jones; Worrall, Pett, Garrity, Conlon, Gibbons (Johnson); Proctor (Amoo), Wilson (Lloyd)
Subs: Stone, Politic, Benning, Taylor
Port Vale bookings: Lloyd, Worrall, Jones, Smith