Port Vale 2-1 Fleetwood Town: defenders provide Valiants with cutting edge for opening day win
Port Vale 2-1 Fleetwood Town: striker crisis? What striker crisis? Goals from defenders Nathan Smith and Connor Hall gave Vale an opening win on their return to League One.
An injury to James Wilson saw teenager Tommy McDermott handed a debut to partner Jamie Proctor upfront and the youngster did not disappoint as he departed to a standing ovation on 67 minutes. There was also an energetic performance by Harry Charsley in midfield but it was the imposing Hall who was the match’s key figure.
The Valiants got off to a shaky start when Promise Omochere was allowed too much room on the left flank and his pass found Batty whose shot beat Aidan Stone. It saw Vale go behind with just six minutes on the clock.
However, Vale turned things around on the half-hour mark. Firstly, Hall turned provided with some nifty footwork from a corner-kick to set up fellow defender Nathan Smith to turn the ball home from close range. Two minutes later, it was Hall who was on target as he turned home Funso Ojo’s cross to take the Valiants to a half-time lead.
The Valiants were rarely troubled in a second period which saw Rory Holden and Will Forrester handed debuts from the bench and captain Tom Conlon mark his return from injury with a late appearance.
The best second-half chance for Darrell Clarks’s side came from the opposition. Fleetwood defender Toto Nsiala’s wayward back-pass evading goalkeeper Jay Lynch but rolling just past the foot of the post.
Back-passes weren’t the only wayward element of the match. There were some baffling decisions from referee Peter Wright including a yellow card for Lewis Cass for what was clearly an accidental clash of heads.
However, Vale did keep their heads to play out seven minutes of added time and delight the 8,109 crowd with three points from their opening game. Strikers or not, this Vale team looked to have made an immediate adjustment to their higher division.
Full-time: Port Vale 2-1 Fleetwood Town
Match stats
Port Vale side: Stone; Cass (Forrester), Smith, Hall – Worrall, Ojo, Charsley (Conlon), Garrity, Benning (Hussey) – McDermott (Holden), Proctor
Subs – Jones, Walker, Small
Vale bookings: Smith, Ojo, McDermott
Vale goals: Smith (30), Hall (32)
Attendance: 8,109
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