Following his arrival from Wycombe Wanderers in the summer, Scott Brown featured for the first time in a Vale shirt on Saturday afternoon as Neil Aspin's men drew 1-1 with Kidsgrove Athletic.
With pre-season preparations still in the early stages, two separate line-ups were fielded in each half, but the newly recruited goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes and he enjoyed being out there with his new teammates.
The 33-year-old will be determined to secure his place as the number one goalkeeper ahead of the new Sky Bet League Two campaign, and he pulled off an acrobatic save during the first half to ensure the Valiants kept the scores level heading into half-time.
He said: "It's always difficult against lower league teams as they want to impress and Kidsgrove certainly did that today, they were a really strong outfit. For us it was all about fitness and it has been a really good week on the training field.
"We have been working hard, but the game was just about getting an extra 45 minutes or 90 under our belts and getting used to playing with each other in a match situation.
"The pitch was difficult to play football on and they put bodies behind the ball, but credit to them as they were well organised and that made it hard for us to break them down.
"Pre-season games are always tough, but it's all about coming through fit and being ready to go come August."
On the save, he added: "The lad has hit it from distance and I've gone on way, but Kay has stuck his head out and got a little nick on it which made me go the other way.
"I was pleased to get a strong hand onto it, but I didn't have a clue where it had gone after so I looked a bit stupid. I was happy to keep it out though, and it's nice to make a decent save in my first game."
Sam Hornby provides the competition in between the posts, but Brown admits that he has enjoyed working with his fellow stopper and Ronnie Sinclair (Goalkeeping Coach) during the last seven days.
Both goalkeepers have impressed in pre-season so far, and they will look to continue that form across the next few weeks. Vale's squad will also spend a few days bonding in Ireland, and Brown believes that such trips are key in forming a strong team spirit.
He said: "I'm really enjoying working with Ronnie and Sam, they are brilliant to work alongside. We will all get on the ferry on Sunday and get working hard again next week ready to go for the season.
"It's all building towards the 4th August now. Of course, everyone would like to win every game we play, but as long as we are all fit for the first league match, that is the main thing.
"The trip will be important too as there are a lot of new lads who still don't know each other's names, so it's like going back to school again and being in a new class.
"There are some really good lads in the dressing room and some top players, so hopefully we can have a positive week away and watch England win on wednesday as well."