[Eddie]

Vale gain a deserved point in an incident-packed encounter at the Galpharm Stadium.

Foyle had to make one change following the suspension of Talbot. In came Miles for him. Foyle resisted the temptation to move Pilkington to left-back and bring in Walsh in the middle as was done without success at Chesterfield. Thus the team was Anyon, Weston, McGregor, Pilkington, Miles, Kamara, Hulbert, Sonner, Whitaker, Sodje and Constantine. On the bench were Musselwhite, Walsh, Gardner, Rodgers and Lowndes. Bad news for Vale was the presence of Luke Beckett in the Huddersfield side but good news was the absence of Andy Booth.

When Luke Beckett played for Huddersfield at Vale Park early in the season he had a quiet game and was then substituted but on 4 minutes he showed that he remains a thorn in Vale's side when giving the Terriers the lead. McIntosh found Beckett inside the Vale area with only McGregor near him. He then turned McGregor before shooting into the net.

Kamara crossed to Constantine and his shot was blocked by McIntosh.

On 11 minutes Huddersfield should have gone further ahead. Schofield surged into the Vale area down the right before crossing to the unmarked (why?) Beckett at the far post. It was an easy chance but Beckett put his shot wide of the near post.

A cross by Sonner was sliced high by Mirfin and then Constantine had another shot blocked by McIntosh on 17 minutes.

On 20 minutes Schofield was hit in the face by a ball from Weston. On came the stretcher, which seemed a bit unnecessary but Schofield was carried off. It transpired later that when Schofield fell down after being hit in the face he had twisted his ankle. He was replaced by Ahmed.The commentators on BBC Radio Leeds felt the loss of Schofield was highly significant.

McIntosh was booked for bringing down the speedy Kamara.

On 28 minutes Sonner's pass sent Sodje away towards the Huddersfield goal but his shot went high and wide.

On 31 minutes Beckett hit a shot way over the bar when well-placed. Perhaps he is human after all.

On 35 minutes Sonner again played Sodje into a good position to the left of the area. Sodje hit the ball expertly to the keeper's left and and into the corner of the net.

On 38 minutes Huddersfield came desperately close to taking the lead again. Ahmed's cross from the left found Mirfin at the far post. His header beat Anyon and was as close as could be to being over the line before Sonner made a last-ditch clearance. This happened at "our" end of the pitch so we were quite well-placed to see but not as well-placed as the linesman, who was perfectly-placed and he indicated that it was not a goal. Perhaps Vale were fortunate on this occasion.

Vale began the second half disastrously. A mere ten seconds after the half began McAliskey received the ball from Taylor and hit a powerful shot from around 25 yards past Anyon and into the net.

On 48 minutes Huddersfield could have settled the match. McAliskey found Taylor-Fletcher and he moved forward before rounding the grounded Anyon and hitting the inside of the post. The ball flew across the line before being cleared.

On 68 minutes Vale got back into the game. Kamara, always a threat, ran past Taylor and lifted a fine across into the six-yard box where Sodje met it with a powerful downward header and it found the net.

Having equalised, Vale should have taken the lead almost immediately. Sodje's run and cross from the right found Constantine unmarked at the far post and he should have done better than hit his shot wide from close range.

Vale were now well on top and looking likely winners.Pilkington's header at the far post went over the bar.

On 83 minutes a cross from the right by Collins was just missed by Beckett at the far post.

Vale had 44% of the possession, 2 on-target efforts to their 4, 4 off-target efforts to their 8, 6 corners to their 3. Vale had Hulbert booked and Huddersfield had McIntosh, Taylor and Ahmed booked. Vale used Walsh and Gardner as subs for Weston and Kamara. I don't suppose ref Sutton was popular with the home fans because of the balance of bookings and fouls but he did OK. The attendance was 10313 including 425 Vale fans, who were often in good voice.

This was another exciting match to watch and both sides deserved something from the game. Huddersfield will point to simple chances missed by Beckett and Taylor-Fletcher as well as the issue of the "was it over the line?" header from Mirfin. Vale also contributed much to the game though the stats don't seem to support that opinion. The Vale defence was dodgy at times, especially the normally reliable McGregor, who seemed to give the dangerous Beckett too much room. Sonner did well in midfield as he continues to have a more creative phase than I have previously associated with him. The star performers for Vale were, however, Kamara and Sodje. Kamara has done more than enough now to justify the offer of a contract for at least next season. His pace is proving a great asset to the Vale and he keeps the opposition full-back on the back foot and unable to get forward. He crossed immaculately for the second goal. Sodje has been popular with Vale fans from the start as he gives of his best but the big question mark related to his finishing ability. Previously he seemed to need ten chances in order to score one goal but his recent purple patch has revealed him as a fine finisher. I would be interested to see what valuation would be put on him if bigger clubs came for him in the Summer. I suppose Constantine will leave Vale in the Summer but if he could somehow feel inclined to stay and be offered sufficient cash (based on personal and club success) it would give Vale a decent strike-force for next season as we would also have Rodgers and one other new signing. Add to these a left-winger of pace, a creative midfielder and another central defender Vale might not look bad next time.

The fine game made up for the hopeless parking system in operation at the ground. As we arrived as early as 12.30 you might expect we would have the best of the parking. Instead the idea is that first ones there are sent to the most distant point to occupy a numbered space and be blocked in in the process. Latecomers get the best places. After the game there were lots of empty spaces ( I don't think they had just left early) so those blocked in were not happy. In addition they also hold back cars for 15 minutes after the game, doubtless for valid Health and Safety reasons. One of the stewards said that next season they are operating a first come-first served system. We will not be using this car park again as I well remember that in May 1998 (the day Vale won 4-0 to ensure survival) we were again stuck on that car park for absolutely ages. Never again, especially for a bumper

[rock]

Eddie, on Apr 1 2007, 10:25 AM, said:

Next week we have Carlisle at Vale Park. Vale were leading 2-0 there last November before conceding three goals in the last 25 minutes. Jeff Smith scored on that day but will be with the opposition next time and will doubtless get the usual negative reaction he often received from Vale fans anyway.

Thanks for the excellent report Eddie, us fans that can't get to as many games as we like look forward to reading your match reports which are honest and true reflection of the game.

Just want to add on your final point regarding Carlisle, surely the Vale when selling him should of put a clause in there so that he can't play against us this season, there are lots of teams that do this if we haven't then Why? You can guarantee if he does play he'll play well and maybe even get a goal.

[MarkyBoy]

rock, on Apr 1 2007, 12:19 PM, said:

Thanks for the excellent report Eddie, us fans that can't get to as many games as we like look forward to reading your match reports which are honest and true reflection of the game.

Just want to add on your final point regarding Carlisle, surely the Vale when selling him should of put a clause in there so that he can't play against us this season, there are lots of teams that do this if we haven't then Why? You can guarantee if he does play he'll play well and maybe even get a goal.

I'm not sure about the latter. I personally have never heard of a case where a player has moved on a permanent deal and been banned from playing against his former club. You can do it with loan deals but I'm fairly sure you can't do it with permanent deals.

[kirsty]

Thanks for the great report Eddie.

It was a very exciting match to watch yesterday, and a point for each side was deserved, although either could have won it. Vale, overall, were the better side who passed the ball better and who looked more exciting. HOwever, I thought that Huddersfield were, at times, much quicker than us, showing a bit more urgency in their passing on the ball. Beckett, in the first half, looked very livley. Eddie mentions the point at which he was unmarked and they almost scored. That happened quite a few times and I thought that pilks was also at fault on a few occasions, as well as McGregor.

Kamara's cross for our second was briliiant. How did he manage it? His crossing seems to be much better when he's under that kind of pressure, than just from open play when he seems ot have much more time. Sodje looked much more likley to score (and did, twice) than Constantine yesterday. This seemed very unusual. Leon had that one chance near the very end that he really should have scored and I'm sure would have scored on a different day. The Vale supporters were shouting for Rodgers in the second half and I would have liked to have seen him come on for Constantine, just to give him a bit of run out.

I'd also liked to have seen Walsh up against Beckett. I doubt he'd have scored the first one with Walsh marking him.

Great game anyway, well worth the money and trip out.

[Gary B]

MarkyBoy, on Apr 1 2007, 01:21 PM, said:

rock, on Apr 1 2007, 12:19 PM, said:

Thanks for the excellent report Eddie, us fans that can't get to as many games as we like look forward to reading your match reports which are honest and true reflection of the game.

Just want to add on your final point regarding Carlisle, surely the Vale when selling him should of put a clause in there so that he can't play against us this season, there are lots of teams that do this if we haven't then Why? You can guarantee if he does play he'll play well and maybe even get a goal.

I'm not sure about the latter. I personally have never heard of a case where a player has moved on a permanent deal and been banned from playing against his former club. You can do it with loan deals but I'm fairly sure you can't do it with permanent deals.

It's a contract, you can put any clause in it you want to so long as both sides agree then no problem, if they don't then they don't sign so no contract

[kirsty]

I wont boo Smith. I think he ended up being a good player for us, well, this season he did well. I get the impression that he didn't want to leave and if he did, I get the impression Vale didn't do much to try and keep him. So there's nothing to dislike him for. However, I do think he'll be booed, strangley.

[Jacko]

MarkyBoy, on Apr 1 2007, 01:21 PM, said:

rock, on Apr 1 2007, 12:19 PM, said:

Thanks for the excellent report Eddie, us fans that can't get to as many games as we like look forward to reading your match reports which are honest and true reflection of the game.

Just want to add on your final point regarding Carlisle, surely the Vale when selling him should of put a clause in there so that he can't play against us this season, there are lots of teams that do this if we haven't then Why? You can guarantee if he does play he'll play well and maybe even get a goal.

I'm not sure about the latter. I personally have never heard of a case where a player has moved on a permanent deal and been banned from playing against his former club. You can do it with loan deals but I'm fairly sure you can't do it with permanent deals.

Newcastle did it when they sold Andy Cole to Manure. His first game should have been back at St James's but the clubs agreed he would not play for Manure and Keith Gillespie (part exchange) would not play for Newcastle.

[rock]

MarkyBoy, on Apr 1 2007, 01:21 PM, said:

I'm not sure about the latter. I personally have never heard of a case where a player has moved on a permanent deal and been banned from playing against his former club. You can do it with loan deals but I'm fairly sure you can't do it with permanent deals.

You can but only for the season that they move. It has happened several times, i seem to remember Vale had a situation like this with a player they had on a permanent deal, but i can't remember who it was.

[Tone]

rock, on Apr 1 2007, 06:13 PM, said:

You can but only for the season that they move. It has happened several times, i seem to remember Vale had a situation like this with a player they had on a permanent deal, but i can't remember who it was.

That makes sense. Smith was under contract to the Vale until the end of the season and so, to release him from thatcontract, it is not unreasonable and not without comparision in other fields of business, to restrict his activities during that period.