Back in the top three after a battling win

A look at Port Vale after their 1-0 win at Crewe

Vale’s players celebrate victory at Crewe. Pic by Gerard Austin

Hello and welcome to our Sunday edition of The Valiant for March 30.

Vale fans belted out ‘we are going up’ after Jayden Stockley’s 86th-minute header earned a 1-0 win at Crewe

The target man’s ninth goal of the season finally separated the teams in a hard-fought game and leaves Vale back in the automatic promotion places, in third.

Ryan Croasdale came close to an opener when his 12-yard volley was blocked on the line by keeper Filip Marschall but Vale were grateful to Ben Amos for a double save to deny Max Conway and Chris Long and the hosts also came close when Tom Lowery hit the bar just before the break.

A tight game appeared heading for a draw after Ryan Croasdale missed a chance but Vale’s strong finish was rewarded when Mitch Clark’s long throw was flicked on by Jesse Debrah and rebounded for Stockley to head home.

Some fans spilled on to the pitch from the away end and play was held up for two minutes while one supporter was restrained and taken away.

That contributed to ten minutes of stoppage time but Vale claimed a win that, coupled with results elsewhere, leaves them in a strong position ahead of a huge week in which they entertain second-placed Bradford on Tuesday before going to leaders Walsall on Saturday.

We’ve got news, analysis, opinion and nostalgia in today’s edition. If you are interested in subscribing, we offer a minimum of 150 editions over 12 months from the day you sign up. That’s less than 27p each for that £40 fee. There’s also a monthly option and a free trial available. Or, if you’d like to see more about what we do, our 200th edition was free and is available here.

If you are already a subscriber then thanks for your support and please read on for edition number 263.