Port Vale’s stay in League One looks set to come to an end as a home defeat to Shrewsbury extended their winless run and left them increasingly adrift in the relegation zone. The only highlight was a first Vale goal for teenager Baylee Dipepa.
Team news
Darren Moore made five changes to his starting eleven with captain Nathan Smith, Conor Grant, Dan Jones, James Wilson and Tom Sang all selected. Ethan Chislett was named on the bench. However, there were no place in the squad for striker Ryan Loft or defender Mitch Clark with the latter reportedly suffering an injury setback after returning against Derby County. Former Valiant Mal Benning started for the opponents.
First-half
The Valiants started brightly but despite the pressure, Shrewsbury took an early lead. They almost scored on five minutes when Smith failed to clear and Bayliss had a shot deflected wide. However, from the resulting corner, the away side did find the target. It was an unmarked Daniel Udoh who converted a corner from former Valiant Mal Benning on six minutes. Once again, Vale had got off to a dreadful start in a crucial game.
Inevitably that goal knocked Vale’s confidence and the visitors were the better side from that point. The home side had some half chances – there were appeals for a penalty as Smith appeared to be pulled down in the box while Sang hit an effort wide and Grant had another blocked. However, Shrewsbury had several better chances to increase their lead – Bloxham missed a great chance while the towering Dunkley was inexplicitly left unmarked from a corner and should also have scored.
Vale finally created some clearcut chances in the final fifteen minutes of the half. Firstly, the Shrewsbury defence were caught cold by a Debrah long ball and it fell to Garrity. However, the Vale’s top-scorer snatched his effort wide. There was a second chance from the resulting corner as Smith just failed to connect from close range. However, the best chance of all fell to Wilson on 40 minutes. The striker was fed the ball, advanced and hit a fine shot which drew an excellent save from the Shrewsbury keeper.
So, it was a familiar tale at the break as the Valiants trailed after gifting their opponents an early goal. The side now had it all to do in the second-half in order to save their season.
Half-time: Port Vale 0-1 Shrewsbury Town
Second-half
Just like the opening forty five minutes, Vale had a bright start to the second-half only to repeat the trick from the first-half as they conceded an early goal. A corner wasn’t cleared and Shrewsbury played on as Vale appealed for offside. The ball reached Tom Bloxham who poked home.
The second goal momentarily knocked the stuffing out of Vale before they rallied. Sang blazed a shot over and Wilson weaved into the box for another effort. However, it was the seventeen year-old sub Baylee Dipepa who found the target on 69 minutes for his first senior goal.
That goal sparked a period of Vale pressure but the side’s lack of quality was evident as Sang wasted a corner and Ojo blazed a cross out of play. There were also loud appeals for handball from a Mighten effort.
Shrewsbury could have sealed the win but Ripley came out well to take the ball off Bloxham on 83 minutes. Vale tried in vain to mount a dramatic late comeback but this side lacks the quality to do so. As the final whistle blew, there was a chorus of boos from the fans after a result which may well have sealed Vale’s relegation from League One.
Full-time: Port Vale 1-2 Shrewsbury Town
Closing thoughts
So is that it? Is it all over? While there’s mathematically a chance, the team’s form and confidence suggests there’s virtually no chance of them making up enough points to get out of the relegation zone. It increasingly looks like League Two next season.
As for this game some credit is due to goalkeeper Connor Ripley, who once again was largely blameless for the goals, to Ben Garrity who put in plenty of effort, to James Wilson who put in some classy touches and to teenager Baylee Dipepa for his performance and goal, but that’s about it. Too many performances were average, no-one stepped up and quite a few just seemed to go through the motions. For a “must-win” game that’s really not good enough.
This was a typical display from this insipid Port Vale side. It was timid for long periods, no-one took charge and there were problems all over the pitch… the defence can still switch off, the midfield can get overrun and the forwards can get no service. Yes there were passages of pressure but too few and far between.
So let’s look further ahead… currently this continued failure in the transfer windows looks a recipe for disaster especially as Port Vale will need to do some major rebuilding in the summer (and are already hamstrung by most players being under contract) so there needs to be an honest, far-reaching and rapid review of what went wrong and who is at fault. Many fans will point at one person – director of football David Flitcroft (who, in his own words, is responsible for all football matters).
Please note the following stats components may take a little while to update after the final whistle
Match stats
Port Vale: Ripley – Smith, Debrah, Jones – Sang, Ojo, Weir (Chislett), Grant (Mighten) – Garrity – Massey (Dipepa), Wilson
Unused subs: Leutwiler, Iacovitti, Plant, Lowe
Vale bookings: Jones, Ripley
Vale goals: Baylee Dipepa (69)
Attendance: 6,900 (1,140 visitors)
Keep the faith we are not down yet but the situation could not be any worse. Flitcoft should still go but the owners seem oblivious to what Flitcrot has caused .
Moore is not up to the job, he’s too defensive, can’t pick a settled team ,he will take vale down,he has no passion.
Same old story. You cannot win a football match if only 1 or 2 are trying. With the exception of Wilson and Garrity, Di Peppa and Mighten from the bench the rest simply not anywhere near good enough. There is no pride,drive,passion going through the motions. DOF should have gone with Crosby. The new manager has not had desired effect of improvement in results. I remember Darrell had similar start and look what he did for us, all seems a long time ago, those halcyon days. Hopefully Moore will turn it around but I can’t see it happening anytime soon. Flitcrift should go now!! Ken said keep the faith, there is absolutely no chance of us staying up . League 2 tour here we come
we’ve got games in hand ps law of average says we must be due for a win keep the faith
An absolute hammer blow of a result, a demoralizing defeat and another performance that laid bare the squad’s lack of confidence, quality, and guile at League 1 level. That Moore selected (Chislett apart) arguably his most experienced starting line up is all the more worrying, because they struggled against a relatively poor Shrewsbury outfit. The speed at which the Vale’s season has imploded after decent autumn league form and the Cup run is astonishing. No new manager bounce after Moore’s long term appointment to replace the hard working Crosby. On reflection, Crosby made a decent fist of the job with the resources available to him. The supporters, especially those who have travelled the country the last 2-3 years, have been badly let down. The owner’s social and community integrity is admirable, but that business model hasn’t developed a competitive football squad since 2022. The formula that delivered promotion only two years ago has disappeared.
Absolutely no guts we will definitely go down this team not even good enough for the national league
Its taken some time to put into words how bad the football is, kick and hope going forward while unable to mark opposition in defensive situations. DM can only play with what he’s got but Massey up front…..really. The obvious poor recruitment for whatever reason has left us in this dire situation with division 2 inevitable.
Another insipid display. Mel Benning looked better than our full/wing backs ( not mentioning the form of Lewis Cass at Stockport)…. Surely Flitcroft must go
Personally I thought a lot of effort was in evidence and it’s one of the few occasions when we made more chances than the opposition. However, the fact that we are unable to score goals and everyone seems to know how to beat us, gives us little chance. As for the fans out there who wanted Crosby gone, results since he went are some of the worst in Vales long history 2points from 8 games (both with dodgy penalty decisions) shows what he was up against. Crosby also had Ojo and Garrity missing for 2 to 3 months. Decision need to be made NOW if not we will be going into the summer with the same people making the decision. Both Flitcroft and Moore need to go if not we will be battling for the club’s existence. I’m sorry Carol you’ve made fools out of the club with your “championship ready” comments, your open letter defending Flitcroft was so condescending it was beyond belief, and your decision to Sack Crosby and replace him with Moore was outright bonkers. The groundsman for almost 40years has gone, the ticket office has been closed your dreadful decisions go on and on. I really am at my wits end
Ian Mountford I agree with all, you say, she also got rid of Colin Garlic a man the fans could talk to,we are now a laughing stock, I wonder if Carols car has a say nav, or does Jonah Flitcroft tell it were to go.