Port Vale 2-1 Swindon Town – first goals for Byers and Cover down Town

George Byers and Brandan Cover scored their first goals for the club as the Valiants defeated Swindon Town at Vale Park on Saturday.

Team news

Manager Darren Moore made a number of changes including handing a full League debut to loanee Antwoine Hackford, Tom Sang and Ben Heneghan also returned to the starting eleven with Ethan Chislett, Ryan Croasdale and Ruari Paton all on the bench.

First-half

The Valiants dominated possession but wasteful finishing meant it was goalless at the break at Vale Park.

The recalled Tom Sang produced good delivery from a succession of corner-kicks but targetman Jayden Stockley was unable to find the target from the opportunities.

Vale started brightly and the first chance saw Heneghan nod down a Sang free-kick only for Tolaj to find the side netting. Stockley then headed over from a corner while Connor Hall saw a drive blocked and Heneghan put a header wide. Stockley then put another header from a corner wide before the striker missed arguably the chance of the half when he should have scored from a glorious Sang ball.

It was largely one way traffic although Vale did have cause to be grateful for Byers clearing up after an error between Ripley and Hall. There were a number of decent Vale performances. Byers knitted everything together, Tolaj was responsible for some neat set-up play, both wide man John and Cover impressed but it was the recalled Sang who caught the eye with good delivery into the box. If only one of his teammates could have found the net from one of them.

Half-time: Port Vale 0-0 Swindon Town

Second-half

First Vale goals for George Byers and Brendan Cover were enough to seal all three points although Vale had to weather a nervy end after a late Swindon goal.

The second forty five started in similar fashion to the first with a Stockley shot saved early on. The visitors then had a break and were unlucky not to score when Drinan’s shot beat Ripley and bounced off the post. Minutes later it was Vale’s turn to rattle the woodwork as both Garrity and Stockley hit the bar.

Vale were putting Swindon under increasing pressure and after a Byers shot was saved, the midfielder made no mistake on the hour mark. A short corner found Byers head and he powered it in to break the deadlock.

Swindon again had another chance from a break as the game opened up. Drinan beat Ripley but John was able to clear the ball before it crossed the line.

Vale really needed another goal to be safe and Chislett came close when his corner was palmed away by the keeper. They got it through an error from a Swindon defender who failed to control the ball. This allowed Cover to collect and he calmly entered the box and chipped the ball over the keeper to make it 2-0.

That should have been it but this isn’t Vale without a nervy ending. The visitors were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box and Wright’s shot beat the wall and Ripley. It came on 89 minutes and Vale had to see out five minutes of added time to record the three points.

Full-time: Port Vale 2-1 Swindon Town

Final thoughts:

A more clinical Vale side could have been sure of the points much earlier but Vale were wasteful of some excellent service on Saturday. It was disappointing to see them concede the free-kick and the goal late on but at least they did hold on for all three points.

The positives of this win will be some delightful attacking play with some of the balls coming in from the flanks and set-pieces of the highest quality. Although he didn’t score today, Jayden Stockley will be thrilled if he continues to get this service through the season. It was also great to witness the performances of some of the more “junior” members of the side notably Cover and John on the flanks.

The negatives were that the defence still has its “moments” and that will concern Darren Moore. However, three points are three points as Vale’s unbeaten run continues.

Pick of the players: 

Tom Sang justified his recall with some excellent balls into the box. George Byers looks much too good for League Two. Jayden Stockley, Brandan Cover and Lorent Tolaj caused the Swindon defence all sorts of problems. However, a word here for Kyle John, a rookie defender, who I felt had an excellent game. He was energetic down the flank, put in some good crosses and his clearance when Ripley was beaten was invaluable. Considering the left-back issues last season and the loss of both Mitch Clark and Sam Hart to injury this season, John is rapidly becoming a key player for this Vale side.

What did you think of the Port Vale performance? Share your thoughts and post a comment below.