Despite being in the lead twice Vale are forced to accept a draw instead of a win but the visitors richly deserve it.

Jarrett was expected to play after joining Vale but he was not a loanee and therefore he needed to have been registered on Monday by 12 o'clock instead of Tuesday by 12 o'clock. Adams left Haldane and Stockley out of Saturday's starting line-up. He went with Chris Martin (goal), Griffith, McCombe, Collins, Owen, Kris Taylor, Fraser, Loft, Dodds, Rob Taylor and Richards. On the bench were Anyon, Stockley, Yates, McCrory, Haldane, Horsfield. Vale were organised in a flexible 3-4-3 with Dodds linking up with Rob Taylor and Richards.

On 3 mins confusion in the Vale box was ended by a free-kick to Vale.

On 4 mins a cross from the right fell to Dodds who hit the ball with clinical precision into the corner of the net. 1-0 to the Vale.

On 13 mins a Vale corner was played in by Fraser and when it came back to him his cross went beyond everyone.

On 17 mins Chris Martin had to make a good save from an Accrington free-kick.

On 19 mins Richards headed the ball against the bar from a corner.

On 20 mins Vale gained a corner following a Kris Taylor free-kick but this was cleared.

On 22 mins good play by Kris Taylor led the ball to go from Richards to Dodds whose shot was saved.

On 24 mins a Vale corner was cleared.

On 31 mins Edwards shot wide following a corner.

On 35 mins Winnard was booked for a foul on Dodds. From the free-kick Owen had a header saved by Alan Martin.

On 37 mins Chris Martin used his feet to save a shot from Symes.

On 38 mins Rob Taylor embarked on a great run but it ended with an Accrington goal-kick.

On 39 mins Grant (or was it Procter?) hit the Vale post with a header and it produced a corner for Accrington and then another from which Kempson shot wide.

Fraser had a shot saved on 42 mins and Chris Martin saved low-down for Vale, just before half-time.

1 min was added.

HT Vale 1 Accrington 0

On 48 mins an Accrington corner was cleared.

On 58 mins Loft had a decent chip shot saved by Alan Martin.

On 61 mins Vale made a double substitution with Haldane replacing Rob Taylor and Stockley replacing Loft.

On 63 mins Kee replaced Joyce.

On 64 mins Dodds ran forward and screwed his shot wide.

On 65 mins Accrington had a corner cleared, the same happening two mins later with another corner.

On 73 mins Fraser hit an effort over the bar.

On 73 mins McCrory replaced the injured Dodds.

On 75 mins Chris Martin was forced to make two decent saves in quick succession.

On 80 mins Stockley handled the ball in the penalty area. Edwards hit a fine, unstoppable shot for the penalty. 1-1.

On 84 mins an effort by Kris Taylor brought a good save out of Alan Martin. One minute later Fraser stooped to head Vale into an undeserved lead when the keeper failed to gather a Stockley cross. 2-1 to Vale.

On 88 mins Turner replaced Lees for Accrington.

On 90 mins Procter hit a long-range shot into the corner of the Vale net, via a slight but crucial deflection (think it was off Richards) , for the equaliser. The Accrington players let themselves down badly with their unacceptable celebrations in front of the Vale fans in the Railway Stand and Paddock. 2-2.

4 mins were added. during which Accrington came close to a winner and had another corner cleared.

FT Vale 2 Accrington 2

Vale had 45% of the possession, 8 on-target efforts to their 8, 3 off-target efforts to their 7 and 5 corners to their 7. Vale had no player booked but Accrington had Winnard yellow-carded for a foul. Ref Sheldrake is new to the list this season and his record shows him not to be card-happy. I'm not sure if that really was a penalty - if it wasn't he influenced the result. Where I think he should have intervened was when their players celebrated in front of the Paddock, very visibly goading the Vale fans - the ref should at least have told them to move away.The attendance was about what I had expected, 4326, with a mere 107 Accrington fans, who were quite vocal given their numbers.

The Sentinel is blowing this up as "Bouncing Back" (today's headline on the back page) but I was not impressed. The first half was fairly even but after taking the lead Vale had the chances to have won the game. At that stage Vale looked quite lively and were giving at least as good as they got though Accrington were also showing up well and could have been level at the break. In the second half Accrington were the better side. They had a smallish team but they were players who were mobile and nippy. They played well as a team. Their Manager John Coleman has performed miracles to get the club where they are. Their finances are well-documented. The players are amongst the lowest paid in the division from what we hear and yet Coleman has somehow managed to have them playing a skilful brand of football. We have played them three times in the last year and they have always impressed.

As regards individuals, I think Martin (our Martin - their keeper was also called Martin!) had no chance with either goal and was generally back to his best, much-improved on his Notts County performance). Griffith was as solid as ever and his passing less erratic than usual. Taylor was also OK. The central defenders were OK in a defensive sense but their passing out of defence was below standard with McCombe the main culprit, the ball often finding opponents. In midfield Loft was utterly anonymous. Was Fraser really deserving of the comment made by Sentinel reporter Dave Knapper : "A superb display from the captain". For me that is a massive exaggeration but I was pleased to see him score. He was announced as Man of the Match ....... but I'm not sure which player I would have chosen.Rob Taylor had a couple of good runs but is not playing at the high level of earlier games. Richards did some good work and nearly scored but I am convinced that he has plenty of goals in him if given the right service. This means people getting to the by-line and crossing, not hoofing it towards him from deep positions. The subs didn't make a lot of difference though Stockley's cross led to Vale's second goal ...... and then he gave away the penalty. Haldane has "won" two pens but in general has disappointed me : he doesn't look better than what we've got, much though I Iove players of pace.

My big complaints about Vale at the moment are threefold. The first is the failure to close down opponents wherever they are on the field. Far too often opponents are allowed to gather the ball and pass or run unchallenged. We had a case in point with their late equaliser. I have watched the TV film and scorer Procter moves away from the penalty area anticipating the ball coming clear and he was unchallenged as he shot. There were many other examples of this. It does not require skill to do this.I've seen the goals from last night's games. Just look at how Dave Hibbert scored for Shrewsbury : all he did was try to block the keeper's clearance and it hit him and went into the net. Easy,but not lucky! My second, related to the first but in a more specific sense, is that the midfield offer no protection to the defence. At present I blame Loft and Fraser. The third is the inability to hold onto the ball. This is especially annoying at the end of a game when all that is required is to keep the ball, which involves players running into positions to receive easy passes. After we had gone ahead last night, with just a few minutes to go, it should have been obvious that all Vale needed to do was to try to hold the ball : while we've got it they can't score. We couldn't do it or perhaps didn't even attempt it. Surely these three things can be sorted out in training? Close down opponents, protect the defence and run the clock down by legitimate retention of the ball. Difficult? It shouldn't be!

My early-season optimism has evaporated, in spite of the fact that Vale actually moved up one place to 15th.Last night we looked no better than in many of last season's horror shows. Afterwards Adams said on Radio Stoke that he was pleased with the lads. He also said in the Sentinel "I think in terms of effort they tried to do the right things at the right times. Nerves got the better of them at times and you could see that in the whole of the second half". I hope that he manages to bring in extra players as he indicated in the Sentinel : "We need bodies (hope he means live ones) and I will look to do that in the next week to ten days". Jarrett will obviously figure on Saturday and there are the usual rumours of other players coming in.

I have to express my disappointment at the behaviour of the Accrington players when they equalised. Scorer Procter had his Adebayor moment when leading his team-mates to run towards the Paddock (their fans were behind the goal in which he had scored), gesturing as they did so. Accrington are still in desperate financial straits. They have been asking for help from other clubs and their fans. Burnley recently played them in a friendly at Turf Moor, with Accrington keeping the receipts. I am not sure that any Vale fans would wish to respond after what their players did last night. Certainly, if Accrington need one more pound to keep them alive it will not come from my pocket. Former Crewe and Macclesfield player John Miles also did his club no favours by clearly trying to persuade the ref to book Haldane.

Some of you will know that I made an appearance on last night's BBC Midlands Today. I had a call from Dan Pallett of BBC at about 1pm and he asked if I'd agree to be interviewed, alongside fellow Vale fanatic Phil Sherwin, before the game. I had to leave home much earlier than usual to do this. I had thought in advance what I would say although I didn't know exactly what I would be asked. I wanted to make sure I did not come across as merely critical of Adams. I was especially anxious that having said I was opposed to what he had done in transfer-listing everyone that Dan Pallett did not say "Thanks, now back to the studio". As a result I decided to express my general support for him before saying I did not agree with him in this case. It was just as well I did this as I had only one chance to speak. Overall it seemed to go OK. Having done the piece the TV team just went home - not into the game, so if tonight Dan Pallett says anything which indicates he was actually watching the game do not believe him!

On Saturday we face leaders Bournemouth. They lost last night at Hereford but will be strong opposition. I expect to see a couple of new faces in the team for Saturday so hopefully they will make a difference. One thing which might be in our favour is our great record against them, having gone nine games without defeat against them. Expect controversy as the referee is Mr Shoebridge, famous (infamous?) for his failure to award Crystal Palace an obvious goal at Bristol City earlier this season when the ball entered the net, only to bounce out again. A win is a must.

Eddie

Thank you Eddie.

I wasn't there but it appears that I missed very little. I am quite worried that our form has dipped, the manager is ranting at his players and all our old failings are re-appearing.

I can imagine the sinking hearts after they equalised late on!

How come tiny Accrington can play better than us?

I expect us to lose to B'Mouth who are going great guns and will not want to lose two in a row.

How come B'Mouth can play better than us?

They were also in dire straits last year yet still survived playing great football and are now top.

The next few games are going to shape our season and I'm worried. The feel good factor has gone. The initial enthusiasm and verve of some of the players has gone. It will be interesting to see what Adams does............ Get ready for a rocky ride.

so Eddie, why did Proctor come at us --- i'm pretty certain you sit near enough directly behind us in the Paddock (the quiet "mid-zone"), and i've still no idea what we did that provoked it

what was the motive... ex-Stoke / ex-Crewe player or something?

i think i may have nightmares about it again tonight!... bully

Edited September 30, 200917 yr by Dr_Emmett_Brown

so Eddie, why did Proctor come at us --- i'm pretty certain you sit near enough directly behind us in the Paddock (the quiet "mid-zone"), and i've still no idea what we did that provoked it

I may be wrong but to me there appeared much vitriol spouted to the number 26 Tom Lees for his altercation with Lewis Haldane, not that Lewis did anything wrong. Fans in the paddock appeared to carry on a bit of a feud with him and I think that spilled over into the ensuing celebration. I am not excusing it BTW. Incidentally I don't think Lewis did a Bob Newton on him though. Bob was famous for following through on full backs as I recall but I don't think Lewis did.

Edited September 30, 200917 yr by Gerard

I'm looking forward to the return match with Vale winning, enabling me (and many others) to chant "Procter, Procter, what's the score?". He'll probably come and punch me!

I know some are saying don't make a fuss but I do think it was poor and potentially provocative behaviour. Many travelling Valiants will recall Billy Paynter scoring for Vale at Walsall, taking his shirt off in front of VALE fans, receiving a second booking from Lee Probert for that and thus being sent off. Now I know that a booking is given for shirt removal but how can you really square the two incidents : Paynter booked for, in effect, celebrating in front of Vale fans and Procter not being booked for goading Vale fans!

With a bit of luck Accrington will be wound up soon and their results expunged from the records...... including Procter's goal. This would mean us losing a point and Procter would beg us to sign him!

With a bit of luck Accrington will be wound up soon

:o

With a bit of luck Accrington will be wound up soon

:o

I agree Eddie when players do things like that you lose sympathy for them.

Why all the negativity.ok Tuesday was poor but lets give some credit to Accrington here they never gave up ,looked a decent outfit to me,if anything the best team ive seen up Vale this season.We made a draw with only half our team at the races so ifAdams can get the other half of the team playing then i think we will get some positive results.On saturday we need to go 4-4-2 we are givind the opposition to much room in midfield and the defence are overworked to say the least so id go with Martin Griffith Owen Collins K taylor Jarrett Fraser Loft R taylor Dodds if fit as he won more in the air on tuesday than any of the forwards and Richards who is only in the team cause we have no one else.Subs Weston Mccombe to be used as an emergency centre forward Richman Thompson and Haldane Stockley and Yates Lawrie.Up the Vale im up for it all ready lets hope all the players are too lets hope all of them put a good shift in and Vale park is rocking to Mickey Adams Black and Whi army he is the best thing to happen to VALE he is terrific.Up the VALE!

With a bit of luck Accrington will be wound up soon

:o

I agree Eddie when players do things like that you lose sympathy for them.

So you lose sympathy for the supporters too?

The only doubt in my mind is whether or not we should make a distinction between the club and those players who represented the club on Tuesday night. Perhaps the club should survive and those disrespectful players get their just deserts.

Did their celebrations really bother you, Ed? I was a bit bemused to why they did it but I never viewed it disrespectful or antagonising. I was more bemused to why some over on OVF thought it necessary to ring Bill Lodey to complain along with emailing the FA about it, that really is going to far, imho.

Yes, Tosh, they did and they always do so when I'm watching games between other clubs on TV. In fact, when I see players do the "cupped ear" gesture to the fans of the opponents or the "hush" gesture (after scoring) I invariably make a yellow card gesture of my own at the guilty parties and tell them to pack it in. I think it is quite enough to celebrate in a positive fashion so I am quite comfortable with players jumping, hugging team-mates, waving to their own fans etc but not goading other fans and rubbing it in. It is similar to a situation (unlikely) if I won the lottery. It would be fine for me to be joyous and make it clear that I was but it would not be acceptable for me to run over to you and say "I've won the lottery. Yes. You haven't, Tosh. Ha, ha!". On Tuesday I was happy (relatively!) to see Accrington celebrate themselves and with their own 107 fans but those players made a decision (however much it was spur of the moment) to rub it in when they must have known the Vale fans would be feeling pretty fed up. I wouldn't do this myself and do not like to see others doing it ....... and that also applies to Vale players. Players who do this should not be surprised if fans react to them in the emotional atmosphere of football grounds.

It didn't bother me at all, with the amount of stick players get during games that us supporters dish out, I think we should be able to take a little bit of stick back without over reacting.

These folks complaining to the club really must be short of something to do, thats the sort of reaction i'd want if I was trying to wind someone up.

I think winding up is itself childish. I used to hate people at school saying "How did the Vale get on?" when they knew darned well the team had lost. What irritated me was that as I regard it as childish I would never dream of going to a Stoke fan in similar circumstances and say "How did Stoke get on?". Pathetic...... but just wait until 13th April when I give Procter stick as Vale clinch promotion after a 4-0 win there!! "Procter, Procter what's the score". I may have to throw my principles out of the window!

I think Malcom Christie's goal celebration will never be surpassed.