Late drama as Dennis Politic and Jamie Proctor both score in injury time to take all three points against Leyton Orient
A second versus fourth battle at Vale Park with both teams coming into the game on unbeaten runs. The visitors had the first chance of the game through Harry Smith who headed wide at the back post following a corner on four minutes.
Just two minutes later and Orient were made to pay for that missed chance as James Wilson headed home at the other end. Ben Garrity ran through the O’s defence and slipped the ball to James Gibbons who cut back onto his right foot and whipped the ball to the back post where Proctor was waiting to head the ball across to Wilson who nodded it in from close range.
From the Valiants’ performance early in the half, the winning run was looking likely to continue and we could have easily had a second when Proctor reached a cross in the area with his head but the effort went wide of the goal on ten minutes. Leyton Orient responded six minutes later with a shot from outside the area by Hector Kyprianou but it was comfortably saved by Lucas Covolan.
Our top scorer Proctor was looking to get on the scoresheet and had the opportunity to do so on 20 minutes. Garrity’s cross from the right found Proctor completely unmarked in the middle but his volley could not find the goal as it went wide of the post.
Three minutes later Orient had a second shot on target through captain Darren Pratley whose header from a cross went straight into the ground and bounced up into the hands of Covolan. The Valiants were awarded a free-kick 25-yards out on 32 minutes. Tom Conlon’s effort just went wide of the post with Lawrence Vigouroux in goal stretching to reach it.
Wilson having scored with his first effort was hungry for more as three minutes after Conlon’s free-kick Wilson received the ball in the area and shot on the turn but his effort went over the bar. With five minutes to go until half time we were really pushing for a deserved second as David Worrall had a shot from just outside the area but his effort dragged wide.
In the second half the visitors were much improved, defender Connor Wood was able to push higher and got two shots off on 51 and 57 minutes but both of them went high and wide. On the hour mark Orient scored a fortunate equaliser when a weak shot from a tight angle was deflected off the leg of Dan Jones and crossed the line to level the scores.
Four minutes later and Proctor was still pressing for a goal, his shot from 20-yards out was spilled by Vigouroux but claimed at the second attempt. 86 minutes played and the visitors thought they had won it, Tom James put the ball into the bottom corner from outside the area.
Now, for the late show. Substitute Dennis Politic received the ball from David Amoo in the area completely unmarked and put the ball in the top corner to what at the time looked like a late equaliser in the 90th minute. In the fourth minute of added on time Proctor finally got his deserved goal in a complete remake of the equaliser with Worrall this time being the provider to snatch the win at the death and send Vale Park into hysterics.
Port Vale: Covolan, Gibbons (87’ Politic), Jones, Smith, Worrall, Garrity (57’ Taylor), Wilson (67’ Amoo), Conlon, Proctor, Pett, Cass
Unused subs: Stone, Benning, Johnson, Lloyd, Politic
Leyton Orient: Vigouroux, James, Wood, Happe, Smith, Archibald (46’ Smyth), Drinan (76’ Clay), Pratley, Beckles, Ogie, Kyprianou
Unused subs: Byrne, Kemp, Sotiriou, Young, Papadopoulos