Caretaker manager Jamie Smith’s side played better but they were unable to prevent an away defeat to Bradford City. Here’s our match report.
Team News
It was the first Vale game since the departure of manager Darren Moore.
Interim manager Jamie Smith made four changes which saw Kyle John, Ryan Croasdale, Jordan Shipley and Jayden Stockley all start. John formed a back three with Heneghan and Humphreys; Shipley and Croasdale formed a three man midfield alongside Byers while Stockley partnered Devante Cole upfront.
Ronan Curtis, Rhys Walters and George Hall were all named on the bench but Irish striker Ruari Paton was still missing through injury.
Kyle John – back in the team
First-half
A much improved Port Vale performance saw them hold Bradford to a draw at the break.
The Vale had the first attempt with Jordan Shipley curling an effort over on three minutes. The Valiants were enjoying a decent start with the recalled Shipley looking lively. Vale were keeping Bradford at bay and the only blots on the copybook were yellows for Kyle John after an agricultural 12th minute challenge and another for Jaheim Headley for holding back a player.
As the game reached the twenty minute stage it was an evenly matched battle albeit one without any clear chances.
There was a scare on 26 minutes when Amos failed to gather a cross. He did manage to do so at the second attempt with home fans calling for a penalty as he challenged a Bradford player for the ball. The referee was unmoved. There were further calls for a spot-kick on 37 minutes following a Bradford corner which saw a player injured but again the appeals were turned down.
There was a further chance for Vale when Headley found an unmarked Shipley but his 42nd minute effort went horribly wide. Stockley did likewise with another skied effort on 44 minutes. Bradford finished the half with a Humphrys effort which went wide.
Vale had impressed with their work rate and energy and were worthy of being level at the break.
Half-time: Bradford City 0-0 Port Vale
Ben Amos – one moment of uncertainty
Second-half
A single moment of quality was enough to sink Port Vale as their winless run in League One continued.
There was a third yellow for Vale as Stockley was penalised. The big forward was probably fortunate to stay on the pitch. He had already been involved in several clashes and the latest one saw Bradford’s Kelly receive treatment for a head wound.
The Valiants then had the first chance on 54 minutes. Shipley’s corner was headed into Cole’s path by Heneghan but he couldn’t force the ball home from close range. There was an even better chance for Bradford as Humphrys curling shot beat Amos but Heneghan was there to head it off the line. The veteran sustained a head injury as a result.
With two injury breaks, it had been a stop-start opening fifteen minutes. However, on the hour mark, Bradford almost took advantage of a weak back header from Clark but Wright couldn’t quite reach the ball.
However, the home side did find the target on 66 minutes through a moment of real class. Jenson Metcalfe hit a wonderful dipping shot over Amos to put Bradford into the lead. It was the one moment of quality worthy of settling a close encounter. The home side were now on top as Humphrys headed narrowly wide on 73 minutes. Amos then saved another attempt five minutes later.
Vale’s heads did not go down as they tried to force their way back into the game. However, they couldn’t create any clear chances as they ended yet another game on the losing side.
Full-time: Bradford City 1-0 Port Vale
Ben Heneghan – excellent clearance
Analysis and Opinion
The match
So, Vale leave empty handed but there were positives. This was a proper battling away performance. The non-negotiable from fans is that players give 100% and in this game the supporters cannot complain as Vale were hard working, resilient and energetic. They were all elements missing from the Huddersfield game. They may have lost but this was a much improved showing under Jamie Smith and supporters will be hoping the side can continue to do the same during the crucial New Year fixture against Blackpool.
The negative aspect was – by leaving out the likes of George Hall, Jamie Smith had gone for work rate and resilience over flair and so as a result, any clearcut chances for Vale were few and far between. The Valiants have failed to score in eight of their last nine League games.
The players
There were positives to be taken from this game. Stockley’s physical presence and partnership with Cole looks to have promise. The midfield trio worked hard. The defence was better with Heneghan having a solid game, Humphreys showing his class and John slotting in seamlessly. Ben Amos had one shaky moment but was otherwise solid and had no chance with the goal.
Star player
It was a decent all-round showing without anyone taking centre stage. If we were forced to pick one player it would be Ben Heneghan.
Summing up in a sentence
Battling Vale lose to Bradford.
Match stats
Team: Amos – John (Curtis), Heneghan, Humphreys – Clark, Croasdale, Byers, Shipley (G.Hall), Headley – Stockley (Faal), Cole
Subs: Gauci, Debrah, Waine, Walters
Yellows: John, Headley, Stockley
Reds: none
Goals: none
Attendance:
Season stats
Your thoughts…
Debate the match on the dedicated match thread in the OVF forum
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Predictable scoreline in circumstances. Yes improved performance but 0 shots on target always spells trouble. The set up with 8 defensive players plus a keeper looked like we were playing for nil nil but to be expected from a Moore clone. With the games coming thick and fast this is why we should have got rid of Moore sooner because by the time a new manager arrives in the new year it could well be 15 points from safety and even God himself would find it impossible to save the season. League 2 ready everyone.
Hardworking performance just goes to show what we knew weeks ago that DM had lost the support of the squad decision needed 2 months ago but we have only probably got 6/7 players of the required standard to pull us up the table but the travelling fans were absolutely 1st class with their backing so I hope that whoever is in charge really does perform a miracle and would deserve the freedom of good old Boslom UTV The effort could not be faulted at Bradford just need gigantic slice of talent & luck UTV
Yes Improved all over the pitch, I have not seen Vale play with the bottle and guts they showed tonight for a long time, but this side lacks class and the players with the ability to get us off the bottom of the table, plenty of effort, but no end product, to me it did show that the team would not play for Mr Moore, they did however play as a team, it looks like we need at least 5 or 6 players to make the have a chance of survival in this division my man of the match the team, they showed some pride tonight.Thank you lads.
Better effort but this side needs a back four not good enough for three plus players can, not sayin do hide if we aint all ready down losing at home will just compound our position just saying
Vale battled really hard but you just can’t see where the goals will come from to help us stay up. Ferguson and the Northampton manager have been interviewed so far, so I’m led to believe!
Totally agree the players tried to raise their game, but goals stem from only two routes…the quality of hitting the target or capitalising from a defensive mistake. We sadly lack any serious quality in midfield to lay off that breakthrough pass, rather the option tends to be a neutral sideways effort which permits the opposition to regain their shape and gather their numbers in defence. The whole product is far too slow and without a serious winger with pace getting the ball into the box we cannot offer a serious challenge to the opposition and no matter what statistics suggests our position in the league is deserved. It may seem rather old fashioned football but we need to adopt a new approach if we are to turn this disastrous season around. The game at Bradford showed that the pairing of Cole and Stockley could work and although nothing resulted they just need to be provided with the right service and goals will come. The effort from the players was much better and the crowd were amazing given the present situation.
Whoever comes in to replace Moore must have a dominant personality to steer the players through the rest of the season, even though the cause does look already lost…. yet we remain optimistic that it is possible to turn our fortune around and make a challenge to stay up !
After this defeat Vale are so far cut adrift from the safety of fifth bottom place that escaping relegation looks very unlikely. About 40 points from 24 games are needed to guarantee avoiding the drop. Any incoming manager would find that an enormous hurdle. First, the team must score goals, and a paltry 13 in 22 games is a shocking base to start from. The Cole / Paton strike partnership offers the best chance of success. Darren Ferguson’s track record of five promotions and three Wembley FA Trophy wins surely makes him a strong candidate, if he is interested.
I agree with all the comments above, it’s plain to see that the problem remains Vale can’t score goals, we fail to feed the strikers and so they end up dropping further back in an attempt to get on the ball, the most concerning problem is we don’t even come close to scoring. Whoever takes over as the new manager needs a miracle to turn this around. Let’s hope that for the fans sake the effort level is high and performances are worth the watch. We can only wait to see what happens next, unfortunately you can’t make chicken soup out of chicken shit. Keep the faith. UTV