Vale flying high

An in-depth look at league leaders Port Vale after their 3-1 win at home to Fleetwood

Rico Richards celebrates his opener against Fleetwood. Pic by Tom Green

Hello and welcome to our Sunday morning edition of The Valiant for October 20.

Vale march on at the top of the table after a 3-1 win at home to Fleetwood and a convincing performance.

They showed plenty of character too, having been pegged back when Carl Johnston’s 36th-minute volley cancelled out Rico Richards’ 33rd-minute opener.

Vale had dominated the first half up until the equaliser but were then tested in a more even start to the second half in which Ronan Coughlan twice forced saves from Connor Ripley.

But Darren Moore brought on Benicio and Ronan Curtis on 65 minutes and that tipped the game back to his side. Benicio set up Ryan Croasdale to restore the lead, on 67 minutes, before Curtis got on the end of Ben Garrity’s 73rd-minute cross to put his side 3-1 up.

The result keeps the Vale a point clear at the top and now nine games unbeaten in all competitions ahead of Tuesday’s league game at Harrogate.

If you are interested in subscribing, we offer a minimum of 150 editions over the next 12 months, that’s less than 27p per edition. There is also a monthly option and a free trial available.

If you are already a subscriber then please read on for news, analysis, opinion and nostalgia…