It was low quality for long periods as Vale and Huddersfield played out a draw at Vale Park. Here’s our match report.
Team News
Port Vale manager Jon Brady had a patched together team after regular defenders Kyle John and Connor Hall were ruled out through injury and fatigue respectively.
It meant a patched-up back three of Tyler Magloire, Elijah Campbell and Liam Gordon. Jordan Gabriel and Jaheim Headley were on the flanks. Rhys Walters, Funso Ojo and Jordan Shipley were in central midfield. Ben Waine partnered fit again Martin Sherif upfront.
The likes of Andre Gray, George Hall and Dejaune were on the bench.
Sherif – started upfront
First-half
The Valiants survived pressure from the visitors to keep it all-square at the break.
It was all Huddersfield for the first half-hour. Vale’s patched-up back-line struggled with the inexperience of Campbell apparent. The first chance saw Hardie fail to connect after a good passing move on 8 minutes. The same player charged down Gauci’s clearance on 10 minutes but couldn’t fashion a chance.
Huddersfield’s best chance came on 17 minutes when former Valiant Marcus Harness beat Gabriel and his shot was cleared off the line by Liam Gordon with some difficulty. Two minutes later, Hardie was sent clear but flagged offside.
It took until 27 minutes for Vale to come into the game. The first chance saw an Ojo effort blocked from a free-kick.
There was a break in play on 35 minutes when Tyler Magloire, Vale’s only recognised central defender, received treatment for a cut. Fortunately, he was able to continue.
The Valiants continued to struggle at the back and Huddersfield smacked the crossbar in additional time as Vale somehow managed to keep Town at bay. As the additional time ticked to a close, Vale had their first attempt on target – a weak shot from Waine. At the break, it was goalless at Vale Park.
Half-time: Port Vale 0-0 Huddersfield Town
Ojo: first effort on target
Second-half
It was a better second-half display by Vale as they were held by Huddersfield.
It was a much better start by Vale as a good ball from Shipley fed Headley on 47 minutes and his shot was saved by the keeper. It was then back to Huddersfield pressure as Waine was forced to clear in the box. Another good move from Town saw Ashia flagged offside. On 56 minutes, Hardie blazed a good effort over when well placed. On the hour mark, Gauci did well to punch a Town cross out.
On the hour mark, Jon Brady made a double change upfront with Gray and Brown replacing Waine and Sherif. It was still a scappy affair with Gauci alert to save another Huddersfield shot on 68 minutes. It was Vale’s turn to break on 69 minutes but Shipley blazed over.
There was a blow on 70 minutes when Headley, who had done well, was forced off. Shipley dropped into the left wingback role. Vale then had their best chance when sub Andre Gray tested the keeper on 75 minutes.
It was end-to-end at times and Gauci did well to save down low from Hardie on 85 minutes. Vale were next to threaten with Ojo and Hall having chances. There were also appeals for a handball in the box from sub Ethon Archer’s cross but they were turned down.
That was the end of the chances as the game, which had been moribund for long periods, ended with some excitement.
Full-time: Port Vale 0-0 Huddersfield Town
Andre Gray – good chance
Analysis and Opinion
The match
Let’s be clear – this was not a classic. Vale managed one attempt on target in the first-half and there was some desperate defending at times. It was scrappy for long periods although Huddersfield had enough first-half chances to have taken a lead. Vale were better in the second-half but without creating much.
However, considering Vale had so many players out of position as the game progressed – Campbell and Gordon in the back three and Shipley at left wingback – this was a reasonable display.
The players
The positives – Funso Ojo tried to control things in midfield. Liam Gordon did well in an unfamiliar position and Tyler Maglore, as the only recognised centre-half also put in a good shift. Joe Gauci was solid and Jaheim Headley was decent. Sub Andre Gray’s quality improved the frontline when he came on.
The negatives – Rhys Walters struggled to get into the game, the inexperience of Elijah Campell showed while Ben Waine and Martin Sherif were both isolated for long periods. Sherif – for all his physique couldn’t hold the ball up.
Star player
Funso Ojo and Liam Gordon both had decent games.
Summing up in a sentence
Stalemate after a scrappy affair.
Match stats
Team: Gauci – Magloire, Campbell, Gordon – Gabriel, Ojo, Walters (Archer), Shipley, Headley (G.Hall) – Sherif (Brown), Waine (Gray)
Subs: Amos, Hernandez, Ward
Yellows: Ojo, Gabriel, Brown
Reds: none
Goals: none
Attendance: 6,878
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
Uphill struggle to grasp a point, almost inevitable for a Vale squad without Croasdale, Garrity, Byers, John, Hall, Henegan, and Shorrock. Ordinarily a draw against a strong Huddersfield squad would be a decent result, and the fact this was a scrappy game shouldn’t detract from that. With relegation practically a certainty and Brady’s squad ruined by injuries, this was a battling effort albeit low on quality.
Fully agree with Rob’s assessment. Thought the makeshift back 3 were tremendous and Ojo had a great game and was the game’s standout player. Andre made a real difference off the bench. Considering all the changes and the amount of matches played in the last week it was great effort and fully appreciated by the fans.
Let’s be honest, if Vale were half way up the league we’d accept this as a reasonable result, however in our current situation this is simply not enough. So what next, let’s get the rest of the season finished, enjoy our day out at Stamford Bridge and then let’s get serious, we need to have a complete rebuild but be mindful that every game in league 2 will be a battle, we need to put a squad together that compete every time they march out. For the loyal fans I would say a good season in league 2 beats a bad season in league 1. Let’s hope that lessons have been learnt and we can move forward and put a team out that can bring some happiness back to Vale Park. Keep the faith , Up the Vale
Our two forwards were left totally isolated from the off, and with little or no passion from the rest of the team to help them out, the first half was a bit of a hard watch. The second half was a little better, purely because we attempted to get more than two players in the oppositions half. The final 20mins actually turned into a bit of a football match, a match low on skill, nevertheless a lot better than what we had been suffering. If Vale had got any hope of escaping the situation they find themselves in these are the games we needed to win. Huddersfield were very unimpressive, but we are never going to beat anyone unless we get more players in the oppositions box. I’ve mentioned before I’m miffed why a match fit Patton was allowed to leave only to be replaced by unfit players passed their best. One thing that is certain, a massive rebuild will be needed next season.