Burton Albion 0-2 Port Vale report – Massey and Cass goals take Vale into the second two
Rare goals from much criticised wingback Gavin Massey and defender Lewis Cass were enough to earn the Valiants an FA Cup replay win over Burton Albion.
Manager Andy Crosby welcomed back captain Nathan Smith and handed an FA Cup full debut to Rhys Walters, but there was an inexperienced bench with four youth team players on it. Josh Thomas and Alfie Devine were both missing on International duty. However, the likes of James Wilson, Conor Grant, Mitch Clark, Alex Iacovitti, Kofi Balmer and Dan Jones were all missing through injury.
Burton had the better of the opening exchanges but twenty five minutes in, Vale forced the first real chance of the half when Walters forced a good save from the keeper with Ikpeazu unable to capitalise and force the ball home from close range.
However, Vale continued to press and Ikpeazu forced another save minutes later only for Gavin Massey to pounce and score his first goal of the season to put the visitors ahead.
There were further chances for Massey and Chislett as Vale, with Walters impressing in central midfield, looked comfortable taking a goal advantage into the break.
Albion came out strongly after the break and Stockton had a goal disallowed for offside. However, Vale came back into it with a dangerous run from Ikpeazu and a shot from Chislett which was saved.
The Valiants then made the game safe on 82 minutes when another very occasional scorer, Lewis Cass, who had replaced Debrah made the game safe with his first goal of the season. The defender was on hand to convert a fine cross from wingback Sang. Port Vale then played out the remainder of the game to keep a clean sheet.
This was an excellent performance by a much depleted Vale side. Ikpeazu looked a handful throughout, youngster Walters is pushing for a regular start while midfielder Funso Ojo slipped seamlessly into defence. It means the Valiants remain in all three cup competitions and can now look forward to taking on Stevenage in the second round.
Match stats
Port Vale: Ripley – Debrah (Cass), Ojo, Smith – Massey, Walters, Conlon, Sang – Chislett (Plant), Ikpeazu (Loft), Garrity
Subs: Leutwiler, McDermott, Shorrock, Dipepa, Buah, Lomax
Port Vale bookings: none
Port Vale goals: Massey (31), Cass (82)
Attendance: 2,533
