Port Vale made it five straight wins in a row at a buoyant Vale Park thanks to goals from striker Jayden Stockley and loanees Brandon Cover and Rico Richards. But the side were also greateful for a late save from keeper Connor Ripley to secure all three points.
Team news
Team newsManager Darren Moore once again rang the changes with Ethan Chislett, Jack Shorrock, Tom Sang, Jayden Stockley and Rico Richards all handed starts. Benicio, Ruari Paton and Ronan Curtis were named on a strong bench.
First-half
Two goals in two minutes gave Darren Moore’s side the perfect start to this game at a sunny Vale Park stadium.
It was an frenetic start to the opening 45 minutes. The first chance fell to Wimbledon on four minutes with Lewis heading wide from a corner. Vale countered with a long throw which caused panic in the Dons defence but bounced over the bar.
The game burst into life on nine minutes with a brilliant goal from Vale. It was created and finished by Brandon Cover. Cover surged towards the box and released the ball to Stockley. The big forward played the one-two and Cover coolly finished to put Vale ahead. It was his second goal in Vale colours for the loanee.
That goal inspired Vale and Rico Richards surged forward only to be cynically fouled. Ethan Chislett took the free-kick and was unlucky to hit the post. But the ball fell to Richards who fired home for his second goal for the Valiants. It was two in two minutes for a rampant Valiants side.
Vale’s next chance wasn’t as good with Cover driving well over from a corner on 17 minutes. The ext one came to Richards on 22 minutes as he weaved into the box but couldn’t find an angle to finish.
The visitors’ best chance came on 23 minutes as the ball came to Bugiel. He smashed it towards goal but Ripley pulled off a fine save. Seven minutes later, Lewis headed over the bar from a free-kick as the visitors had a good period of play. Wimbledon went even closer on 31 minutes as a Debrah error let Matty Stevens in and his shot beat Ripley but came off the post with Croasdale able to clear.
Vale countered on 34 minutes with Cover once again bursting into the box. He found Chislett but his effort could not beat the keeper. Moments later, another great Vale move saw Sang and Stockley set up Chislett but his shot was blocked. The referee then earned the ire of the crowd as he stopped two promising Vale moves after perceived fouls by Stockley. Moments later he then looked to miss a handball again to the upset of the home fans.
The break came with Vale two goals to the good but knowing that they were in a game after Wimbledon’s period of pressure.
Half-time: Port Vale 2-0 AFC Wimbledon
Second-half
The Valiants countered a goal from Wimbledon with an immediate response from Jayden Stockley and there was a wonder save by Connor Ripley as they ran out 3-2 winners after a thrilling 90 minutes.
Vale came out of the blocks strongly in the second-half. Rico Richards surged forward and fed Chislett whose cross just avoided Stockley. Chislett then nearly set up Stockley with a glorious through ball which was inches too long. Former Wimbledon man Chislett was prominent and showing his class in the opening stages of the half. The visitors’ first chance saw Hippollyte blast the ball well over.
Vale would rue those early chances when the visitors clawed a goal back on 61 minutes. Neaufville’s shot from the edge of the box was too firm for Ripley and it found the net. However, Vale restored their two goal cushion immediately. Richards broke on the right and put a cross right onto Stockley’s head and he couldn’t miss from three yards as he made it 3-1 on 62 minutes. It was great play by Richards and that immediate response was the mark of a team who are confident and bang on form.
The Dons saw a free-kick from Tilley go well wide and Vale then made two changes on 69 minutes with Curtis and Benicio coming on. There was a further change as Lowe replaced captain Garrity who looked to have picked up a knock. There was another baffling decision by the referee as he gave a free-kick to Wimbledon when the player looked offside. From the resulting play the ball sailed through the Vale defence to make it 3-2 on 77 minutes. It was poor defending and led to an anxious end to the game with Wimbledon pushing for an equaliser.
There was mounting pressure from the visitors but Vale then broke through Benicio but he couldn’t find Hackford. The same player drove into the box again but Croasdale’s close-range shot went wide.
Wimbledon continued to press and Vale escaped on ninety minutes when Wimbledon looked certain to score. However, Connor Ripley pulled off an astonishing save and the follow-up crashed off the bar with the Vale keeper beaten. It was the last chance of the game as Vale held on by the skin of their teeth.
Our match preview said there could be celebrations on and off the pitch for this game and indeed there was as the final whistle went. The win meant Vale stretched their lead at the top and made it five straight League Two wins.
Full-time: Port Vale 3-2 AFC Wimbledon
Attendance: 7,163 (484 visitors)
Final thoughts
Match: On a day of celebrations for the legendary John Rudge this was an appropriately entertaining performance from the team. It wasn’t faultless but Vale are now firmly placed on top of the League Two table and deservedly so after a stunning run of form. Considering that Darren Moore once again rang the chances and switched his entire forward line, this was again an excellent result. We are sure every home fan left the ground happy after having an opportunity to thank Rudgie for his years of service and seeing an entertaining Vale win played out on a sunny Burslem day.
Next up: It will surely be another celebratory day next at the stadium when much admired former Vale boss Darrell Clarke brings his Barnsley side to Burslem in the FA Cup first round.
Visitors: Wimbledon are certainly no mugs and they could be contenders this season. Physical and street-smart they posed Vale’s defence problems during period of the game.
Referee: Yet another poor League Two display unfortunately. Some of the decisions were poor, his bookings were baffling and he deservedly received stick from both sets of fans.
Players: Once again this was a really good team performance. Vale created plenty of chances and apart from the two goals for the visitors it was a largely all-round solid performance.
We continue to be impressed by Ryan Croasdale who was everywhere, Connor Ripley pulled off two stunning saves and Jayden Stockley was a battering ram upfront fully deserving his goal. A word too for Jack Shorrock who once again belied his tender years on the left with a solid game. We’ve already mentioned the quality of the loan signings this season and that was once again evident with the performances and goals of Brandon Cover and Rico Richards. For us, both loanees were excellent.
Our Star man pick: Connor Ripley
Port Vale line-up and stats
Starting XI: Ripley – Sang, Debrah, Hall – Cover, Croasdale, Garrity (Lowe), Shorrock (Heneghan) – Chislett (Curtis), Stockley (Hackford), Richards (Benicio)
Subs: Amos, Hackford, Paton, Heneghan
Bookings: Debrah, Stockley, Lowe, Benicio
Goals: Cover (9), Richards (11), Stockley (62)
This component may not immediately update after the match has finished
What did you think of the match? Share your thoughts and post a comment below.
Survived a Late scare . Still top.
3 more points on the board and all round gutsy performance. We have someone up front in Stockley we have needed for a long time. Experienced guy who puts in a great shift week in week out. Let’s keep going as I hope we get out of this division.
What a finish . My heart rate just about back to normal . We rode our luck today but just about deserved the 3 points. Cover and croasdale immense again but for me connor hall outstanfing.Big save from Ripley at the end. We are top of the league and on a good run but we need to kill teams off sooner for the sake of my nerves. UTV
Great win Great team Spirit, NAFF Referee,I have got yo Give Ripley as man of the match,Wimbledon Definitely had 12 men on the pitch today, UTV.
P. Personally i thought we got away with one. Vale got off to a great start, but as the first half progressed wimbledon were giving as good as they got, and could easily have gone in level if not for an excellent save from ripley and a left hand post. The second half started very even with both teams making a couple of half chances, but as the half continued wimbledon seemed to be getting the upper hand and i for one feared if wimbledon scored they would to go on to score again. So it was a relief when we scored our third goal and what an excellent goal it was, possibly the goal of the season so far. When we needed to keep our best and experience players on the pitch to see the game out, Mr moore for reasons known only to him decided to take off, man of the match stockley, Richards ( who was a constant threat ) and chislett. To me this was ludicrous !! We then got to the point where we were struggling to get out of our own half, and the last 5or10 minutes was like the alamo. While a lot of fans will say the rotation of players and this 5 substitutions coming on every game is working, just look at results, i cannot agree. While we are winning games only the newport game was won comfortably, and all said and done we are playing in a league where half the teams would struggle in the national league both on the pitch as well as financially .