David Worrall’s 57th minute strike salvaged a point for Vale against 10-men Accrington Stanley in a dramatic encounter at Vale Park.
In a game that saw two penalties and a red card, our number seven’s second-half strike cancelled out Aaron Pressley’s penalty to ensure the points were shared.
Accrington got their noses in front from the spot seven minutes into the second half after Pressley was adjudged to have been fouled in the area by Funso Ojo.
The number 20 took the responsibility of taking the kick himself and calmly tucked it into the bottom left-hand corner despite Jack Stevens diving the correct way.
However, the Valiants responded within five minutes as David Worrall was there to tuck the ball away after Tom Conlon saw a strike beat away by Lukas Jensen.
Vale awarded a penalty with 15 minutes to go when Harvey Rodgers was sent off for using his hand to prevent Ben Garrity’s goal-bound header from crossing the line.
Unfortunately, Dan Butterworth saw his powerful spot kick saved by Jensen down to his right.
Jamie Proctor returned to the Vale starting 11 for the first time in 178 days, whilst Conlon also came back into the side from the start after an injury as Darrell Clarke made two changes from our defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.
After a fast start, Vale nearly took the lead in the 6th minute through Ojo, but after Proctor laid it to him inside the box, his powerful strike flashed narrowly over the bar.
Chances were hard to come by in a cagey first half, however, one did fall to Gavin Massey who ran through on goal and sent a half-volley wide of the far post.
Just three minutes after the break, the Valiants went within inches of taking the lead when Conlon fired a beautifully curled effort just past the left-hand post.
Vale piled the pressure onto the Stanley backline and in the 66th minute nearly grabbed our second, but Garrity couldn’t keep his header down after Worrall had whipped in a delightful cross.
Nathan Smith came within centimetres of winning it for Vale in stoppage time when he met Worrall’s corner, but his header skimmed the crossbar.
Port Vale | Stevens, Jones, Donnelly, Smith, Worrall, Garrity, Conlon (61’ Pett), Benning (84’ Holden), Proctor (61’ Odubeko), Ojo (68’ Butterworth), Massey
Unused subs | Stone, Forrester, Robinson
Accrington Stanley | Jensen, Coyle, Whalley, McConville, Longelo (80’ O’Brien), Sangare (61’ Fernandes), Rodgers, Pressley (84’ Leigh), Martin, Quirk, Pickles
Unused subs | Savin, Adekoya, Butler-Oyedeji, Woods
Attendance | 4,729 (97 away)