Salford 0-1 Port Vale – Charsley strike boosts Vale’s promotion dreams
Salford 0-1 Port Vale: Harry Charsley picked the perfect match for his first goal for the club as Vale cemented their place in the top three with a potentially priceless win at Salford.
Interim Port Vale manager Andy Crosby made one change with Ben Garrity coming back into the starting line-up with David Amoo dropping to the bench. Dan Jones was also named among the subs.
It was a frenetic start on a small pitch with Vale having the first chance after six minutes. David Worrall found Mal Benning and his cross was fired over by James Wilson. Wilson had an even better chance moments later when he was found by Proctor and his deflected shot hit the post. However, Harry Charsley could not force it home. Salford’s first chance saw Matty Lund’s shot go well over.
Another good move on fifteen minutes saw Connor Hall cross the ball but David Worrall’s header went wide. Salford’s opening play was mostly notable for histrionics as they crowed the referee at every opportunity resulting in harsh bookings for Proctor and Walker.
On 30 minutes an excellent Vale move saw a Brad Walker piledriver go just wide. There was a scare on 37 minutes when Stone miscontrolled a save but he recovered to stop the ball crossing the line. There was another late scare when Ashley Hunter’s shot forced a sharp save from the Vale keeper. However, despite those chances, it was Vale who had the better of the play in the first period.
Half-time: Salford 0-0 Port Vale
The Valiants started the second period strongly with a number of half chances. On 56 minutes, good play by Wilson and Worrall saw a Proctor header go wide. However, Vale did get reward for their pressure when the ball found Charsley in the box on the hour mark and he made no mistake to score his first for the club.
The game boiled over on 68 minutes with an ankle-high Salford challenge on Worrall on 66 minutes but after all the weak yellow cards, it was a surprise it was only a yellow for Love.
It then took a fantastic save from Aidan Stone to keep the Valiants in the lead as he tipped over a deflected shot from Ndaba on 73 minutes. However, Vale could have doubled their lead after Garrity broke clear but he was blocked at the last moment. Stone then pulled off another fine save to keep Vale in the lead.
There was six minutes of injury time added but the Vale held firm to record one of the most important wins of the season. Credit goes to everyone for a superb team performance which makes that “p” word into a real possibility if the team can keep their nerve and form.
Full-time: Salford 0-1 Port Vale
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Match stats:
Port Vale: Stone; Smith, Martin, Hall; Worrall, Garrity, Charsley, Walker, Benning; Wilson (Amoo), Proctor
Subs: Holy, Hurst, Edmondson, Harratt, Jones, Taylor
Port Vale bookings: Proctor, Walker, Benning
Attendance: 2,449 (1,220 away)