Vale rescue a point amid late drama

An in-depth look at Port Vale on and off the pitch after the 1-1 draw at Fleetwood

Vale claimed a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood. Getty Images

Hello and welcome to our Sunday edition of The Valiant for March 9.

Lorent Tolaj’s 96^th-minute penalty rescued a 1-1 draw for Vale at Fleetwood to stretch their unbeaten run to 11 games.

A dull game came to life in the 81st minute when Connor Hall’s diving header from Mitch Clark’s cross was saved, Nathan Smith’s header from the rebound blocked on the line – and the home side broke to score through Ryan Graydon.

But Vale threw men forward and were rewarded when Phoenix Patterson was penalised for a high foot as Ethan Chislett went in for a header. Tolaj sent keeper Jay Lynch the wrong way from the spot to spark celebrations among the 1,100 travelling fans at that end of the ground.

James Bolton should have won it a minute later but fired over to keep Darren Moore’s side unbeaten in 2025. The draw was their third on the spin but keeps them in sixth ahead of Tuesday’s game at Colchester.

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