Goals from Josh Thomas and Funso Ojo secure Vale a place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since the 2006/07 season.
The Valiants started the brighter of two sides and had the first opportunity of the game when Rhys Walters cut onto his left foot but his effort from outside the box was straight at Jack Rose in the Sutton goal.
In the 11th minute the visitors had their first effort of the game. A long throw into the Vale box wasn’t cleared and it fell to Christian N’Guessan who volleyed well over from just inside the box.
The visitors came close again in the 20th minute. Dion Pereira picked up a loose ball before driving into the Vale half, he took aim from just outside the box, but it flew well wide of the near post.
Two minutes later Vale had a good opportunity of their own when Tom Sang showed good feet to find Alfie Devine in the box. The Spurs loanee shifted the ball into his left foot but the angle was tight, and his effort went the wrong side of the post.
Vale continued to push for the opener and worked a good opportunity when Sang and Devine linked up down the right side. Sang found Devine in space before he broke into the box but his cut back was cleared by the United's backline. Just minutes later Vale got in behind down the left side through Conor Grant, but his low cross was comfortably saved by Jack Rose.
Five minutes before the break Connor Ripley was forced into his first save of the game when he rushed off his line to deny Dion Pereira who had broken free of the Vale backline.
Tom Sang had the last chance of a fairly even half when he raced down the right side but his effort from outside the box was well over the crossbar.
After the break it took Vale just four minutes to take the lead. Following a Sutton corner, Jason Lowe won the ball in midfield and played in Josh Thomas who used his pace and raced the length of the Sutton half before finishing smartly into the bottom corner to put his side ahead.
After taking the lead, The Valiants immediately came close to a second when Conor Grant’s cross flashed across the face of goal and was just out of the reach of Gavin Massey who couldn’t quite get a toe on it at the back post.
In the 67th minute Sutton came centimetres away from levelling the scores. A corner was sent into the box which caused chaos in the Vale box before Aiden O’Brien thundered a strike off the underside of the bar, The Sutton players thought it had bounced over the line but the referee waved away their appeals.
Three minutes later Sutton did have the ball over the line as they levelled the scores through Hisham Kasimu. The Sutton forward latched onto a long ball before slotting home with the outside of his foot to make the scores 1-1.
Vale almost regained the lead immediately when Devine got on the end of Grant’s cross but Jack Rose in the Sutton goal stuck out a toe and somehow diverted it behind for a corner.
With ten minutes to go Andy Crosby turned to his bench, bringing on James Plant and Funso Ojo and within two minutes this paid off as Vale re-took the lead. Alfie Devine played it inside to Ojo who set himself before unleashing a rocket of a strike from 25 yards which sailed into bottom corner.
As the referee indicated seven minutes of added time, Vale had a golden chance to seal the game. With Sutton throwing everything at Vale, Ethan Chislett found himself in on goal, as the Sutton defender caught up with him, he found Ojo who tee’d up Wilson, but the Vale striker put too much on it as it went over the bar from the right side of the box.
The Valiants managed to control the last moments of the game and the referee eventually blew the full-time whistle to secure Vale a spot in the fourth Round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since we visited Tottenham Hotspur in the 2006/07 season.
Port Vale | Connor Ripley, Lewis Cass, Dan Jones (Jesse Debrah 69’), Tom Sang (Ethan Chislett 74’), Kofi Balmer (James Plant 81’), Alfie Devine, Conor Grant, Jason Lowe, Gavin Massey, Rhys Walters (Funso Ojo 81’), Josh Thomas (James Wilson 74’)
Subs not used: Jayson Leutwiler, Nathan Smith, Mitch Clark, Ben Garrity
Sutton United | Jack Rose, Omar Sowumni, Ben Goodliffe, (Sam Hart 88’), Christian N’Guessan, Harry Beautyman, Omari Patrick, Craig Eastmond (Aiden O’Brien 54’), Dion Pereira, Joe Kizzi, Ryan Jackson, Lee Angol (Hisham Kasimu 54’)
Subs not used: Dean Bouzanis, Josh Coley, Craig Dundas, Tope Fadahunsi