In a game marred by poor match officials, goalkeeper Joe Gauci made two fine saves and sub Ruari Paton was denied in the final minutes as it ended goalless. Here’s our match report.
Team News
Team NewsManager Darren Moore named a rare unchanged eleven which meant Dejaune Brown was paired with Devante Cole upfront and Jordan Shipley started in midfield.
Jayden Stockley, Ronan Curtis, George Hall and Ruari Paton were named on a strong bench.
First-half
Port Vale’s on loan goalkeeper Joe Gauci produced a fine save on 41 minutes to keep the scores level as Vale battled a dangerous in-form Northampton Town side.
The visitors enjoyed the better start and dominated early possession. They even had the ball in the net after eight minutes but it was disallowed for a foul. The Valiants were struggling to clear their lines but Northampton were unable to take advantage of their good start.
Vale’s first chance saw Byers thread a through ball to Cole on 18 minutes but it was flagged offside. Jordan Shipley was then involved in two good Vale moves. On 21 minutes he sent Brown clear and the striker knocked it back to Shipley whose powerful cross was saved. Another good ball from Shipley saw him again feed Brown on 22 minutes. The ball eventually found Headley but his tame shot was easily saved.
Northampton were next to threaten with a free-kick on 24 minutes. A curling ball was asking to be knocked in but it eventually harmlessly curled out of play. The visitors came back into the game again for a spell but Vale’s defence remained firm. The best opportunity saw Hall sell Gauci short on 32 minutes but the keeper was sharp to come out and clear.
Vale’s best chance of the half saw Shipley combine with Headley and the wingback fired in a low ball on 37 minutes but Gabriel’s shot was blocked. Gauci’s moment then arrived on 41 minutes. Thornily powerfully headed the ball and the Vale keeper produced a superb low save to keep the effort out.
Northampton’s Guiness-Walker bizarrely avoided a card when he blatantly pushed George Byers over – it was typical of the inconsistent officiating. It was not exactly a thriller at Vale Park as it finished goalless at the break.
Half-time: Port Vale 0-0 Northampton Town
Second-half
Sub Ruari Paton nearly won it in the dying moments. However, Darren Moore’s side had to ultimately settle for a draw as they were unable to break down a well-drilled Northampton team.
The Valiants made a half-time change with Headley being replaced by Croasdale. It saw Jordan Shipley move to left wingback. Shipley was almost immediately involved in his new role with a dangerous low cross which was missed by his teammates.
However, Northampton had another great opportunity to open the scoring, but Gauci produced another fine save from Taylor’s powerful drive on 47 minutes. The visitors were continuing to cause Vale problems.
Vale’s next chance saw Garrity burst into the box on 53 minutes and have a shot saved and then Byers have a follow-up drive blocked. They then had a great opportunity when the Town keeper missed the ball out wide. Brown tried to find a Vale player in the box but his cross was cleared.
Darren Moore made changes on the hour mark with Stockley and Curtis coming on for Brown and Shipley. It saw Vale increase the tempo and put pressure on Town especially with Stockley now adding an aerial threat.
There was a further change on 70 minutes with George Hall replacing Garrity. However, once again the visitors had a great chance with Guinness-Walker hitting the side netting when well placed. The Valiants were finding it really hard to break down well organised opponents. They did have a chance on 82 minutes but Croasdale’s fierce drive from a corner went wide.
Darren Moore’s final throw of the dice was bringing on Ruari Paton and the sub nearly won it in additional time. The Irishman turned expertly in the box but the keeper make a good save from his fierce drive. That was it as the Valiants had to settle for a point at home.
Full-time: Port Vale 0-0 Northampton Town
Analysis
The match
Played in blustery conditions, this game wasn’t helped by some inept decisions from the officials. There was pretty much everything – dodgy offside decisions, fouls given to the wrong side, bizarre bookings… all of which didn’t help the game flow. It meant Vale had to battle the weather, the officials and (to give them a lot of credit) a well organised and dangerous Northampton Town side. A largely scrappy affair was therefore settled by the goalkeepers – Joe Gauci saving Vale on two occasions and Ross Fitzsimons producing an injury-time save from Paton.
The players
From bottom to top… Joe Gauci was solid in difficult conditions and produced fine saves. The back three were solid but struggled to clear their lines at time. Of the back three – Jesse Debrah was probably the pick with his pace invaluable in thwarting Northampton breaks. The central midfield was generally decent – Garrity was energetic while Byers had a good game but Shipley’s deliveries were erratic – a mix of dangerous and poor. The wingbacks were good going forward. The strike duo had to rely on scraps but their pace was dangerous on the break.
As far as the subs went – Ryan Croasdale was lively as always and brought an attacking threat. Curtis and Stockley slotted into the side seamlessly. George Hall struggled to get into the game a bit. Unlucky striker Ruari Paton could have won it at the death.
Star man
Aussie keeper Joe Gauci produced two crucial saves.
Summing up in a sentence
Few thrills and no goals as Vale are held at home.
Match stats
Team: Gauci – Humphreys, Debrah, C.Hall – Gabriel, Shipley (Curtis), Byers, Headley (Croasdale) – Garrity (G.Hall) – Brown (Stockley), Cole (Paton)
Subs: Marosi, Heneghan
Yellows: Gabriel, Headley
Reds: none
Goals: none
Attendance: 7,657 (682 visitors)
Season stats
Your thoughts…
Debate the match on the dedicated match thread in the OVF forum
Or scroll down and post your comment at the bottom of this match report
A point and clean sheet was a fair result against well organised and competitive Northampton, whose defensive record of only conceding eight league goals this season explains much.
The game never got going, horrible conditions and a Ref who continuously halted play made sure of that. Northampton were well organised and in fact had the only two efforts on goal until Paton’s late strike. Although Byers was named “The Sponsor Man of the Match”, I’m still underwhelmed by him. He had a lot of the ball yesterday, but for me he plays so deep (especially in the second half) the game is being played at a snail’s pace with all the sideways passing and little triangles going on. I’m not averse to possession football but it does become monotonous especially when there’s no end result at the end of it. We seem to be leaving possibly our best four midfielders (Croasdale, Ojo, Walters and Hall) out of the team to play to a style that suits Byers. Even Garrity is not the same player when Byers is playing, I just feel when Byers is not in the team everyone can play to their strengths, when Byers is in the team everyone has to forfeit their game to play to Byers style.
So you don’t like Byers – he was actually one of our better players yesterday and to be honest Garrity has been a shadow of his usual self this season and that’s not down to Byers. He seems to be lacking in confidence and his energy levels are way down on what they need to be for him to be at his best.
It’s hard to say whether Hall would or wouldn’t be one of our best players because he’s hardly figured in the team – he certainly didn’t add a great deal yesterday when he came on.
Walters has skill but he’s afraid to take a shot when he should and he doesn’t give the midfield the drive we need.