Brief Friendly Report: Bath City 1-5 Port Vale

The free scoring Valiants made it two friendly wins in a row and twelve goals in two games as they comfortably beat Bath City on Saturday afternoon.

The match saw the debut of Vale’s retro inspired away kit and was played after the side had enjoyed a training camp at the Celtic Manor resort. The Valiants started with youngsters Arron Davies in goal and Ben Lomax in defence while there were a trialist goalkeeper on the bench.

Vale had early appeals for a penalty turned down before taking the lead on twelve minutes. Paton sent Clark clear to score the opener. Eight minutes later, Headley set up Hart who also found the target.

The first-half scoring wasn’t complete and five minutes later Wilson netted for the home side before Richards sent Stockley clear and he lobbed the keeper to make it 3-1 to the Valiants just before the break.

Half-time: Bath City 1-3 Port Vale

Vale made one change in the second-half with a trialist playing in goal. Paton then had an early effort ruled out for offside. However, just two minutes later the influential Rico Richards made it 4-1.

https://twitter.com/OfficialPVFC/status/1944052696559784378

There were then a whopping ten changes by the Valiants on the hour mark. It saw the debuts for new signings Liam Gordon, Ben Waine, Jordan Shipley and Cameron Humphreys. On 70 minutes, substitute Waine robbed a defender to score on his debut to make it five for the Vale.

With the game played in searing heat, chances were less frequent in the closing stages. Jack Shorrock nearly made it six from Waine’s ball but his effort was saved.

When the final whistle blew, it was clear that this had been another valuable workout for Darren Moore’s side.

Full-time: Bath City 1-5 Port Vale

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