The Valiants moved top of Sky Bet League Two thanks to goals from Jack Shorrock, Lorent Tolaj, George Byers and Ryan Croasdale as Darren Moore's side stylishly dispatched Bromley 5-0 in front of a bumper home crowd this season at Vale Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Valiants made an electric start with Shorrock opening the scoring after just five minutes before Tolaj added a second just before the half-hour mark. Second half goals from Byers, Tolaj and Croasdale capped off a five-star performance that leaves Vale on a four-game win streak and at the summit of League Two.
Ahead of the game, Darren Moore made a single change to the side that was victorious at Walsall last Saturday with Shorrock coming into the starting lineup to replace Kyle John, who sustained a season-ending injury against the Saddlers. Meanwhile, Ethan Chislett and Jemiah Umolu returned to the matchday squad for the Valiants.
Likewise, Bromley manager Andy Woodman opted for just one change to the eleven that thrashed Accrington 4-0 last weekend with club captain Byron Webster back in the starting team after the skipper’s two-game absence from the squad.
The Valiants were boosted by a bumper crowd of 10,864 which was in full voice before a ball had even been kicked following the news that Swindon had triumphed 5-4 over fellow promotion-chasers Bradford in the early kick-off.
After Bromley won the toss prior to kick-off, the teams switched ends meaning Vale would shoot into an almost-full Hamil Road End in the first half, and it didn’t take long for the fans behind the goal to have something to celebrate as Shorrock found the back of the net just five minutes in.
Mitch Clark picked out Tolaj with a long diagonal, and the forward held the ball up well before feeding it to Shorrock just inside the left-hand side of the Bromley area where the 17-year-old smashed a strike past a defender and into the far corner leaving Grant Smith no chance in the Ravens’ goal.
It looked like the Valiants had doubled the lead on 14 minutes when Tolaj fired home from Shorrock’s left-sided delivery, only for the goal to be ruled out deep into the celebrations after a lengthy exchange between the linesman and referee concluded that Jayden Stockley had been offside and interfering with play.
The visitors threatened Ben Amos’ goal for the first time four minutes later when Danny Imray cut the ball back to Ben Thompson in space inside the penalty area, but Amos denied the Ravens midfielder with a comfortable save.
Imray continued to be a handful as Bromley pushed for an equaliser and - in the 22nd minute - he broke through the Vale midfield and into the box before Connor Hall got across and thwarted his shot with a crucial sliding challenge.
Despite the away side in the ascendancy, it was the Valiants who scored the next goal of the contest as Tolaj refused to be denied a second time just before the half-hour mark. Good link-up play set Croasdale free down the right and he pulled the ball back to the Swiss sensation, who made no mistake from close range to secure his 12th goal of the campaign.
The remainder of the first half became more closely contested and saw acrobatic chances for both sides. First, Tolaj narrowly missed the target on 33 minutes with a bicycle kick in a similar position to last week’s stunner against Walsall. Then, just five minutes later, Thompson attempted a scissor kick from the edge of the Vale box which sailed over and onto the roof of the net.
It was the away side who made the better start to the second half, but the best opportunity fell to Vale on 58 minutes. Tolaj latched onto a loose touch in the Bromley backline and burst through on goal but slid his central attempt inches wide of Smith’s goal.
With 25 minutes left to play, Darren Moore made a triple substitution with George Byers, Ronan Curtis and Sam Hart replacing Rhys Walters, Stockley and Shorrock. And it took little time for the changes to make an impact as just two minutes later, Curtis delivered a free kick from the right into a dangerous area, and it wasn’t cleared eventually falling to Byers, who thumped home into the roof of the net to extend Vale’s lead to three.
Almost immediately the Valiants added a fourth to seal any doubts over the three points as Tolaj took down a long ball on the right with an impeccable touch before cutting in and firing a left-footed shot low past Smith at his near post.
It continued to get better for Moore’s men as with nine minutes remaining Croasdale netted a fifth of the day for the Valiants. Substitute Jerry Umolu found Vale’s player of the year with a terrific low delivery from the left and the midfielder slotted home cooly.
As the chant of, ‘We want six’, echoed around the stadium the Valiants on the pitch mirrored that attitude as Hall floated a cross into the area in the 86th minute which was headed into the hands of Smith by Curtis.
After four minutes of additional time, referee Abigail Byrne’s full-time whistle was greeted by the cheers of over 10,000 Valiants to conclude a perfect day before we head to Brunton Park to face Carlisle on Good Friday at 3pm.
Port Vale | Ben Amos, Mitch Clark, Connor Hall, Nathan Smith, Ben Garrity (C) (Rico Richards 75’), Jayden Stockley (Ronan Curtis 64’), Ryan Croasdale, Lorent Tolaj (Jemiah Umolu 80’), Jesse Debrah, Jack Shorrock (Sam Hart 62’), Rhys Walters (George Byers 68’)
Unused Substitutes: Nathan Broome, Ethan Chislett
Booked: Ryan Croasdale
Bromley | Grant Smith, Ashley Charles (Brooklyn Ilunga 62’), Omar Sowunmi, Michael Cheek (Nicke Kabamba 76’), Kamarl Grant, Byron Webster (C), Jude Arthurs, Cameron Congreve (Harry McKirdy 62’), Danny Imray (Corey Whitley 76’), Ben Thompson, Adam Mayor
Unused Substitutes: Sam Long, Marcus Ifill, Maldini Kacurri
Booked: Michael Cheek, Kamari Grant, Omar Sowunmi, Ashley Charles, Jude Arthurs, Ben Thompson
