An awful season cannot end too soon as a poor Vale display saw them lose once again. This time Plymouth managed it despite the early dismissal of their goalkeeper. Here’s our match report.
Team News
Manager Jon Brady largely kept faith with his starting line-up as he resisted the temptation to blood any youngsters. It saw Jaheim Headley drafted in as wingback and Onel Hernandez employed as right wingback as Jordan Gabriel dropped back to the back three.
Grant Ward, Rhys Walters and Dejaune Brown were amongst the players on the bench. Former Vale players Ronan Curtis and Lorent Tolaj played for the home side.
There was no place for any of Vale’s younger players in the squad.
Gabriel – started
First-half
There was plenty of controversy as Plymouth with two goals and a red card in the first-half.
There was a dramatic start at Home Park. Firstly, former Valiant Lorent Tolaj took advantage of a loose ball in the Vale midfield and played the ball through to strike partner Pepple who finished past Gauci. With two minutes gone, it was the worst possible start for Vale. However, Hernandez played the ball through to Waine on six minutes and goalkeeper Connor Hazard inexplicitly came out of his box and punched the ball away. He was immediately given a red card.
The Valiants equalised on 13 minutes when Connor Hall headed home a corner. However, it was controversial as Headley appeared to handball before the corner was awarded. Nevertheless, Vale fans won’t be complaining.
After that early drama, the game calmed down. There was a missed header from Dale and an overhead kick from Tolaj as the home side had chances but Vale were doing well defensively. Meanwhile, Hernandez, who was proving lively, had a close range effort saved.
On the half-hour mark Vale had two good chances. Shipley’s powerful shot was saved and then Shipley’s shot produced an even better save from the stand-in keeper. More good work from Hernandez saw Croasdale force another decent save on 40 minutes. The final action of the half saw Pepple had a curling shot saved.
Half-time: Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Port Vale
Connor Hall – equaliser
Second-half
It was another poor start to the half as Vale suffered a demoralising defeat in the West County.
Ten man Plymouth took the lead early on when Gabriel lost the ball and Pepple’s low shot beat Gauci. It was an awful start for the Valiants. That gave Argyle confidence and Tolaj came close with another shot.
Vale countered with a move which saw Hernandez feed Sherif but his low shot was saved. However, Plymouth still had the better chances with Tolaj going close again on 64 minutes. The home side should have added to their lead when Humphreys missed a clearance but Pepple drove over.
As the game drew to a close Vale were still creating next to nothing despite having decent possession. It was symbolic of their poor season. Walters lost the ball to Tolaj late on but Gordon did well to come back and clear. There was also a late chance for Vale but Ward’s effort was deflected wide.
As the final whistle went, Vale were shellshocked and well beaten. The summer rebuild is looking more and more crucial by the day. Some of this side are simply not fit to wear the shirt.
Full-time: Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Port Vale
Martin Sherif – rare shot on target
Analysis and Opinion
The match
It was an entertaining start but sadly a lot of it was down to yet another erratic refereeing display. One decision which was correct was the red card which allowed Vale to get back into the game.
The Valiants started both halves poorly and looked weak at the back when Connor Hall was forced off. Vale were also guilty of giving the ball away in key areas. It was a comedy of errors at times.
There was a clear difference in quality between the two side’s strike forces and confidence as Vale rarely threatened while the home side made several decent chances.
The players
Onel Hernandez impressed at times and linked up well with Gabriel who slotted into the back three seamlessly. Connor Hall had a decent game until he was forced off. Jordan Shipley was poor and Vale’s front line was isolated once again. Considering the man advantage it was pretty toothless stuff especially in the second-half when Vale really looked a poor, disorganised outfit at times.
Star player
Onel Hernandez entertained with tricky footwork.
Summing up in a sentence
Devon and hell for hapless Valiants.
Match stats
Team: Gauci – Gabriel, Humpreys, C.Hall (Gordon) – Hernandez, Croasdale (Walters), Shipley (Ward), Headley (Brown) – Waine, Sherif, Archer (G.Hall)
Subs: Amos, Magloire
Yellows: Archer, C.Hall
Reds: none
Goals: C.Hall
Attendance: 16,129 (355 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
For all the talk in the week still picks the same old crap he will be gone by October rubbish
Again absolutely toothless up front only player that definitely needs retaining is Hernandez time up for most of the squad shame no youngsters even on bench which was full of deadbeats oh well UTV
Toothless Vale only Hernandez worth keeping shame no youngster’s involved not even on bench which was full of deadbeats
Keep rejecting my comment must be controversial for someone’s liking oh well UTV
Listened on PVTV. A comedy of errors by Vale through out the match which have been repeated in every match this season. I am dreading the last match on Saturday against Lincoln last chance for many Vale players to show Brady that they will be an asset to the club in L2. Personally I think he has seen enough over the last few months and I think he will try to offload as many players as possible . Scoring more goals next season must be a priority I hope Brady can develop a style of play that puts much more pressure on the opposition’s goal and Vale for a change have players who can take advantage of this and score goals.
Clueless what a shambles ,roll on the end of the season so these players can leave, we could do with a Tolaj, someone who scores and makes goals, but we have got Sherif, what a complete waste of time and money this season has been, long and depressing.
That puts things into perspective when we can’t beat a team down to 10 men for the majority of the game. The retained list is what we are all waiting for, but remember “you can’t make chicken soup out of chicken shit. Let’s see what happens next, not looking forward to this week too much. Keep the faith, UTV
Another away defeat, 14th in the league this season. If Vale had a half decent in form striker they would have cleared the relegation threat, because the defence as been mid table standard with 13 clean sheets. So, you have to go back to the sales of Tolaj, Cole and Curtis and say the goal drought has been self inflicted to some extent. That said, midfield has lacked creativity all season. So many problems for Brady to fix and make the club League 2 competitive.