James Wilson scored his 11th goal of the season as Port Vale defeated Sutton United
Vale understood the importance of a result today in front of a raucous home crowd, and wasted no time making their mark on the fixture. The Valiants pushed forwards aggressively from the whistle and Jamie Proctor came close to breaking the deadlock just four minutes in to the game, firing a powerful shot into the side netting.
It didn’t take long for the home side to take the advantage however, James Wilson notching his 11th goal of the campaign in the 7th minute to put Vale ahead. Mal Benning found space down the left of the pitch and curled a low ball into the box where Jamie Proctor lashed it goalwards, however in a packed opposition box the ball instead fell to the feet of Wilson. The striker’s first effort was saved by Dean Bouzanis from close range, but Wilson was able to tuck away the rebound to put the hosts in front.
Vale maintained pressure on the visitors and the team grew in confidence as the game progressed. This confidence resulted in a spectacular goal from Jamie Proctor halfway through the first half to double the host’s advantage. Once again Mel Benning was the creator, drilling a ball into the box which deflected off a Sutton defender and in to the air. The ball looped into the path of Proctor, who caught the ball sweetly on the volley with an incredible scissor kick to bury it beyond Bouzanis and put the Valiants 2-0 up.
Sutton struggled to pick themselves up after this early bombardment from Vale and rarely threatened in the first half. The visitor’s couldn’t find that crucial final pass due to resolute defending from Vale’s back line and were only able to register a single shot on target before the break.
The away side fought back at the start of the second half and almost scored through the efforts of Omar Bugiel and captain Craig Eastmond, both of whom skewed their shots high and wide from within the box, wasting Sutton’s best chances of the match. Joe Kizzi almost managed to beat Stone with a looping header, but his effort caught the crossbar and the hosts were able to gather the ball.
Vale found their footing once more after this brief period under pressure, tightening up in defence and proving to be a danger on the counter attack. Proctor almost added a third for the hosts on one such attacking move, breaking into the box and curling an effort towards the far post, however he was denied by a diving save from Bouzanis.
The tempo dropped off late on as Vale fans cheered the home side on to a 2-0 victory. Sammy Robinson made his debut as a substitute in the closing minutes of the match, replacing Man of the Match David Worrall who played a large part in dictating Vale’s successful attacking performance in the first half.
Port Vale | Stone, Walker, Hall, Smith, Worrall (87’ Robinson), Garrity, Wilson (65’ Amoo), Benning, Proctor, Charsley, Pett (11’ Martin)
Unused Subs |Holy, Hurst, Harratt, Edmundson
Sutton United | Bouzanis, Wyatt, Goodlife, John, Ajiboye (65’ Randall), Bugiel (75’ Bennett), Beautyman, Eastmond, Boldewijn, Kizzi, Wilson (62’ Olaofe)
Unused Subs | Nelson, Rowe, Davis, Korboa
