Match report | Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Port Vale

TR-INGAME

Port Vale drew 1-1 with Tranmere Rovers in Saturday's early kick-off, with Ronan Curtis on the scoresheet as he continued his impressive recent form.

Rovers started brightly and took the lead through Kristian Dennis, but Curtis found an equaliser just before the half-hour mark to great celebrations from the 1,826 travelling supporters. 

Tranmere were reduced to 10 men late on, but held on for a share of the points despite Vale's late pressure.

Ahead of the game, manager Darren Moore named an unchanged starting line-up from the side that beat Salford City last weekend, with Lorent Tolaj and Mitch Clark among the substitutes, having recently returned to training following injury.

The hosts, meanwhile - under the interim guidance of former Vale boss Andy Crosby for the first time - made four changes from their last game, with Lee O'Connor taking the captain's armband.

It was Tranmere who had more of the ball in the opening stages, albeit without troubling the Vale defence, while Curtis looked lively after having his post-match red card against Salford overturned during the week.

The home side did, however, take the lead with 18 minutes played, capitalising on a mistake at the back to leave striker Dennis with a simple lofted finish from the edge of the area. 

With Vale yet to settle into a rhythm, Tranmere came forward again on 25 minutes, this time on the break, as Josh Hawkes' powerful strike forced a save from Ben Amos, who palmed the ball away for a corner.

Just four minutes later, though, the Vale were level. A pin-point pass from George Byers found Kyle John on the right, and the defender's first-time pull-back reached Curtis, whose shot deflected beyond Luke McGee to make it 1-1. 

The Valiants were now in the ascendency and immediately looked for a second, with Antwoine Hackford firing narrowly wide with a low effort, leaving things all square going into the break.

After the break, Vale were now shooting towards the away end and looked to restart on the front foot, putting some early pressure on the Tranmere defence down the left-hand side.

With 50 minutes on the clock, Vale almost profited from a mix-up in the hosts' defence, as Curtis' left-footed shot was turned around the post for a corner. Looking to complete the turnaround, Moore introduced Tolaj from the bench shortly after.

The home side provided a reminder of their threat with a long-range volley from O'Connor which was well saved by Amos and, from the resulting corner, Curtis' attempted clearance hit the base of the post before another close-range stop from the Vale keeper. 

With second-half chances few and far between going into the final 15 minutes, the returning Clark and Ethan Chislett entered the game in place of John and Rekeem Harper respectively. 

Time was running out for both sides and a quick free-kick released Clark down the left-hand side, but his pull-back was fired over the top by Ryan Croasdale. At the other end, substitute Garrett had a shot blocked away for a Tranmere corner.

Vale looked to break shortly after with Tolaj running onto a pass from Curtis; the Swiss forward was tripped, leaving the referee no option but to give Tranmere's Connor Wood a second yellow card and giving the Valiants a man advantage for the final minutes, with a total of eight added on.

Moore's men piled on the pressure but couldn't find a way through, and therefore had to settle for a point, leaving the Valiants with a total of 56 from 32 league games. 

Next up, Vale take on Harrogate Town at Vale Park on Tuesday evening (7:45pm kick-off). 

 

Tranmere Rovers: McGee, Norman, Turnbull (Davies 81'), Hendry (Garrett 74'), Hawkes (Jennings 61'), Dennis, Merrie, Finley, O'Connor (C), Wood, Patrick.

Subs not used: Murphy, Davison, Mather, Saunders. 

Booked: Wood, Patrick, McGee

Sent off: Wood (second yellow)


Port Vale: Amos, Hall, Smith, Byers (C) (Richards 87'), Curtis, Croasdale, Debrah, John (Clark 75'), Hackford (Tolaj 61'), Hart, Harper (Chislett 75'). 

Subs not used: Broome, Heneghan, Umolu. 

Booked: Hart, Tolaj