The Valiants are defeated on penalties and exit the FA Cup
Gavin Massey opened the game by immediately showing his creative drive, putting in two solid crosses that unfortunately yielded no results.
In the seventh minute however, after controlling an excellent pass from Funso Ojo, Massey put in his third delivery of the match, a low cross that put the ball right into the path of Ben Garrity who slotted home his seventh goal of the season.
Vale were the better team for the rest of the first half. In the 21st minute a lovely piece of link up play between Ethan Chislett and Tom Sang resulted in a cross missing everyone in the box before it was recovered by Alfie Devine who shot into Taye Ashby-Hammond’s arms.
In the 32nd minute a quick break from Vale saw Ojo have a dangerous shot but Ashby-Hammond made a strong save to keep the deficit to one.
Connor Ripley was hardly called into action despite Stevenage attempting to respond a couple of times missing one shot in the box off a corner, ultimately rarely threatening the Valiants keeper.
Midfielder Ben Thompson had their best chance of the opening half in the 12th minute, going close but ultimately dragging the shot wide from the edge of the area.
The second half started off just as well as the first as in the 55th minute Alfie Devine controlled yet another delightful pass from Ojo. The midfielder had to battle for it in the area but he managed to get the ball to eventually fell to Garrity who put away his second of the game.
After that the second half struggled to get going. Stevenage had a period of solid play but it was largely dealt with by Nathan Smith. The captain intercepted one Stevenage pass in the 70th minute that would have provided a golden opportunity for The Boro before heading away a couple of crosses.
Stevenage pulled one back in the 81st minute however. Substitute Harvey White put his shot into the back of the net after breaking through the Valiants midfield line.
The equaliser for the away side then came in the final minute of stoppage time as another substitute, Kane Hemmings, flicked the ball over Ripley to send the game to extra time.
Vale substitute Ryan Loft looked to have won it in the 24th minute of extra time with a scrappy finish that bounced over the keeper but five minutes later Stevenage equalised late on for a second time as Nathan Thompson took advantage of a loose ball in the area and put The Boro level.
Stevenage ultimately prevailed in the penalty shootout 4-3. Ojo, Lowe, and Sang put theirs away but the goalscorers from the match, Garrity and Loft had their penalties saved by Taye Ashby-Hammond.
Port Vale| Connor Ripley, Tom Sang, Nathan Smith ©, Ben Garrity, Ethan Chislett (Ryan Loft 83’), Alfie Devine (Alex Iacovitti 63’), Funso Ojo, Jason Lowe, Ollie Arblaster (Rhys Walters 63’), Gavin Massey (Conor Grant 46’(Ben Lomax 91' ET)), Jesse Debrah
Unused Subs| Jayson Leutwiler, Kofi Balmer, Uche Ikpeazu, Baylee Dipepa, Ben Lomax
Stevenage| Taye Ashby-Hammond, Luther Wildin, Dan Butler, Carl Piergianni, Alex MacDonald (Kane Hemmings 60’), Jordan Roberts (Nick Freeman 60’), Terence Vancooten, Jamie Reid, Aaron Pressley (Nathan Thompson 46’), Harrison Neal (Louis Thompson 46’), Ben Thompson (Harvey White 68’)
Unused Subs| Krisztian Hegyi, Dan Sweeney, Elliot List, Harry Anderson