Port Vale 0-1 Derby County report – eleven winless for Vale as Rams win it late on
It was a familiar story at Vale Park as Andy Crosby’s shotshy side lost at home to Derby County on Tuesday evening.
Fans will have heard it all before – some good passages of play by Vale, bright passing from their young loanees but no cutting edge and unforced errors at the back. It all adds up to a familiar but damning story as the Vale slipped closer to the relegation zone. The fact that Vale matched their more illustrious opponents for a lot of this game came to naught as the Valiants ended the night pointless.
Crosby brought in the experienced Jason Lowe for Ethan Chislett with Funso Ojo restored to a midfield role. It was a frenetic start with some end-to-end play. Derby had an early appeal for a penalty then had a good chance on 18 minutes when Iacovitti went missing allowing Derby a great opportunity which they spurned.
Vale also had chances with Alfie Devine making a good run and having a shot saved. It was then Derby’s turn with veteran striker Collins having two chances in quick succession which Ripley was equal to. There was a second appeal for a Derby penalty before Ikpeazu saw a shot blocked for the home side. There was also a penalty appeal for Vale when Ikpeazu looked to be pulled back in the area.
It was all-square at the break and the second-half continued at a breakneck pace. James Collins missed a glorious opportunity as he missed from close range and there were two great saves from Ripley to keep it scoreless. However, Derby finally found the target with 15 minutes to go. An all too familiar lapse of concentration from Vale’s defence saw the ball lost to Derby. Good work from Mendez-Laing found sub John-Jules unmarked and he stroked the ball past Ripley.
Vale tried to counter but to no avail with the closest a Nathan Smith effort cleared off the line. It ended in another loss for the Valiants and much to ponder. Attention turns to the cup again at the weekend but Vale’s cup exploits have, to some extent, taken some of the attention away from Vale’s woeful run.
There will be pressure on manager Andy Crosby to turn it around, on the forwards to add some firepower, on backroom staff to ease Vale’s worrying injury list and on the recruitment team to bring in the right personnel in the transfer window. Some of those things can’t be done overnight but to put it bluntly, cup games aside, Vale badly need a win when they travel to Exeter in the League in December.
Port Vale: Ripley – Smith, Lowe, Iacovitti (Debrah) – Massey (Plant), Ojo, Arblaster, Sang – Devine (Chislett), Ikpeazu (Loft), Garrity
Subs: Leutwiler, Conlon, Walters
Vale bookings: Iacovitti, Loft
Attendance: 8,062 (2,962 visitors)