LFL: PORT VALE

This was a poor show from us and we barely seemed to get revved up while Port Vale deserved to win it with their well-taken goal.

BEFORE

It's been a great week or so for us with good results from two difficult away matches and this afternoon we'll have the enjoyable diversion of a Cup game. I think we'll get through to the next round, though recent games have again demonstrated that these matches aren't easy for Premier League sides. There have been a lot of amusing images of the state of Port Vale's pitch but I'm sure Regis will make whatever adjustments are needed to get us through. There are bound to be some changes from the side that started against Leeds as, apart from anything else, we've had a tough schedule of late. The only time I ever went to Vale's ground was in November 2018 when a small group of us were given a dramatic police escort on a special bus from the station, much to our amusement. We won on that day and I think we'll win again today, though it may go to extra-time. Once again I'll be watching the match with members of the London Branch. Match prediction: 3-1 to us.

I got to the bar just before 1.00 and for an awful moment I thought that it was closed. I was cursing but then I saw that for some daft reason l’d walked right past it and was glowering at another bar a little further up the road. Anyway, I was soon sitting inside with a pint and a good view of the screen. Several other members of the Faithful appeared. On checking the team-news I saw that there were only a couple of changes from Tuesday with Rigg and Talbi starting in place of Sadiki and Hume, neither of who were on the bench either. Abdullahi and Whittaker were among the subs as was Geragusian, who’s been getting very good reviews. There was no sound on the broadcast but I can’t usually hear the commentary in that bar anyway. We were playing in our blue away strip.

THE MATCH

Alderete conceded a corner in the first minute and Ellborg had to get down to grab a low shot from Hall. We won a corner ourselves in the fourth and Mayenda’s header hit their left post before it went out for another corner. The pitch was certainly very patchy but it wasn’t looking like a ploughed field, yet. We were looking composed and the pitch didn’t seem to be creating special problems for us so far. There was little in the way of goalmouth action for ten minutes or so and soon the first quarter of the game had gone by and it remained goalless. 

There was definite drama in the twenty-fifth when a high backpass by O’Nien from the touchline necessitated Ellborg heading it over the bar for a corner to Port Vale. We cleared that one but they soon had a couple more and from the second in the twenty-eighth Vale took the lead. They took it short and when the ball came to Waine he headed it into the top right corner and Ellborg could only help it into the net. He wheeled away and did Shearer's celebration, owing to the New Zealander being a boyhood Newcastle fan. I still felt that we could get back into the game and win it. There was a delay for several minutes while goalie Gauci received treatment.

When play resumed we almost got the equaliser when a lob from Diarra went narrowly wide of their right post. We’d finally started pressing a lot more and a goal before the break would set us up nicely. Both sides had livened up since their goal and in the forty-second Angulo had a decent low shot that Gauci managed to hold. In the final minute a low Diarra shot went wide of their left post but we were making attempts at any rate. Three minutes of added-time were announced and apart from a tame header from Ballard, that was about it till the half-time whistle went. We’d been lively in the opening few minutes but then we failed to attack much till after they’d taken the lead. I hoped for a good pep-talk from Regis and a much better performance in the second-half.  

When we kicked off again Vale had made one change, bringing on Magloire for Humphreys. Within a minute Talbi had tried a long-distance effort that wasn’t far off the mark and soon we’d won another corner, on our left. It resulted in a couple of goalbound efforts but Gauci managed to deal with both. That was more it like from us at any rate. Next thing Talbi was rolling around on the touchline clutching his gob but nothing occurred as a result and he carried on. In the fifty-second we were awarded a free-kick in a great spot just outside their box but it only resulted in a header from Mayenda going wide. Waine was yellow-carded for a foul on Le Fee. We won another corner in the fifty-sixth but it was headed clear. For Vale, Brown and Archer were replaced by Andre Gray and Hall and then from another corner Ballard, under pressure, headed a mile wide. Right on the hour Ellborg was booked for a foul on Hall just outside our box as we were caught on the hop. There was a VAR check and it looked like he might have a red coming but he escaped and we dealt with the ensuing free-kick. With half an hour left I still felt that we’d win it. 

We brought on Isidor for Talbi in the sixty-eighth and from yet another corner Ballard headed wide. Gauci made a good save from an Angulo header and from that corner Ballard headed very narrowly over – he was getting closer. There was another delay while Gauci received treatment so we’d have a good deal of added-time. Vale were of course defending in depth but they’d looked sharp on the break too. With fifteen minutes on the clock I saw Xhaka warming up and my spirits were lifted. Angulo hit the post, I think, in the seventy-ninth while his shirt was clearly being pulled but we had time enough to grab an equaliser and if it went to extra-time, I thought we’d have the psychological advantage. Xhaka finally replaced Rigg in the eighty-third and I hoped for a little magic. As we did most of the pressing our passing was at times poor and chances were squandered.

Suddenly there were less than three minutes on the clock and things weren’t looking at all good. In the final minute Xhaka attempted a long-distance lob but it went over and then we were into six minutes of added-time. Gray shot not far wide in the ninety-second and then Le Fee had a shot that went very, very wide indeed. That was about it and soon the final whistle went and that was the end of our Cup dreams.