Darren Moore’s side held on for what could be a vital point as they picked up a deserved draw at Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
Team news
Port Vale manager Darren Moore brought in Gavin Massey to start against his former club as youngster Baylee Dipepa dropped to the bench. However, another youngster came into the line-up with Jack Shorrock starting ahead of Conor Grant. There was no place for Jesse Debrah in the squad.
First-half
It was an even first forty five minutes with the Valiants matching their opponents and having several decent chances. The first arrived early on for Ethan Chislett with a potshot. The home side only had one weak effort from McManaman in the first fifteen minutes but then had a great chance to open the scoring with Smith’s shot deflected wide.
Vale then had several chances of their own. A great ball from Ryan Loft set Ben Garrity free on 26 minutes and he passed to Massey whose shot was saved low down by goalkeeper Tickle. Massey then had another chance as he headed wide from a corner. There was another good opportunity on 36 minutes when good work from Chislett set up Ben Garrity but he miskicked.
The last chance of the half fell to the home side from a corner. The ball was headed towards goal but Iacovitti blocked on the line and Ripley tidied up.
A draw was probably a fair result at the break. It was a decent first-half performance from the Valiants who had created a handful of opportunities without finding that clinical edge.
Half-time: Wigan 0-0 Port Vale
Second-half
Wigan had two chances to open the scoring in the second-half. Firstly. Smith’s close range shot was saved by Ripley and then there was a golden opportunity when there was chaos in the Vale box but Sang was able to clear off the line.
Vale were pressing well in a game with little quality and Nathan Smith’s header from a corner went wide on the hour mark. However, the home side countered with Smith’s shot deflected wide and Ripley saving another attempt from close-range.
There was then a glorious chance for Vale on 82 minutes as James Plant’s deflected shot was saved and Baylee Dipepa’s follow-up was brilliantly saved by Tickle.
Vale finished strongly but despite four minutes of added on time they couldn’t conjure any more clear chances. Nevertheless, a point will be more than welcome as results elsewhere went in Vale’s favour.
Full-time: Wigan 0-0 Port Vale
Closing thoughts
This Port Vale side may be unbalanced and lacking quality but the team at least showed heart and character. Some of the more criticised players such as Gavin Massey and Ryan Loft put in plenty of effort as did the likes of Alex Iacovitti at the back. It was still a good result, but it could have been more if only Vale could have converted one of their chances!
Please note the following stats components may take a little while to update after the final whistle
Match stats
Port Vale: Ripley – Sang, Smith, Iacovitti – Plant, Garrity, Ojo, Chislett (Weir), Shorrock (Grant) – Massey (Dipepa), Loft (Ikpeazu)
Unused subs: Leutwiler, Walters, Lowe
Vale bookings: Garrity
Vale goals: none
Attendance: 12,572 (1,374 visitors)
Good point 3 would have been better but the others slipped up so not too bad I wonder if playing Wednesday will help because I think it’s been 2yrs since we won a lge on a Tuesday may be wrong UTV
Still a way to go but we must take our chances. A lot will to be carried out in the summer. Not a lot of leeway with 15 players still with contracts to run.
Surviving a relegation battle doesn’t have to be pretty, and today’s committed performance brought another vital point to edge the Vale above the bottom four. The possibility of the club rising out of the relegation zone seemed remote recently, but a few clean sheets, better team organisation, and commitment have given the club a fighting survival chance. But, it’s going to be close.
Strange one, it was a good point as all the other results went our way but disappointing that we just aren’t good enough to win these games. The work rate and togetherness was impressive after the performance against Oxford, but the lack of quality at both ends of the pitch means we are dependent on the opposition not taking the invariably chances coming their way. It was not dissimilar to the Northampton game except for Northampton took their chances.