Port Vale Trophy progress marred by injury concerns

A look at Port Vale issues on and off the pitch after the EFL Trophy win over Newcastle United under-21s

Vale celebrate taking the lead against Newcastle under-21s. Pic by Tom Green

Port Vale secured their place in the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy as a penalty shoot-out win at home to Newcastle United’s under-21s was enough to send them through with a game to spare.

However, Vale’s progress in a game that featured five of their current academy players did come at a cost as experienced striker James Wilson had to be helped off in the first half with a suspected calf injury.

That followed news before kick off that defender Connor Grant suffered a calf injury in Saturday’s defeat at Portsmouth. Vale are awaiting the results of a scan but fear he may face a lengthy lay off.

Vale took the lead on 17 minutes last night, Jesse Debrah reacting quickest to volley home Ethan Chislett’s corner. But Ellis Stanton’s powerful long-range strike on 90 minutes levelled at 1-1 to send the game to penalties.

Ben Garrity, Jason Lowe and Mitch Clark scored for Vale and, although Jack Shorrock and Rhys Walters had their efforts saved, three penalty stops from Vale keeper Jason Leutwiler helped his side win the shoot-out 3-2.

In today’s edition we have talking points from the game, how the Vale rated and reaction. Thank you for your support and please read on for more.