Port Vale 2-3 Crawley Town – Match Report and Player Ratings

Crawley twice come from behind against Port Vale to boost their chances of survival, thus denting Vales chances of a late Play Off push.

Port Vale started brightly against relegation threatened  Crawley Town and grabbed a early lead after a scrabble in the box was turned in by Louis Dodds in the 4th minute.

Port Vale failed to capitalise on there dominance and let Crawley equalise in the 43rd minute with a low deflected shot by Anthony Wordsworth wrong footing Port Vale goalkeeper Chris Neal.

Louis Dodds on his return to the team immediately put Vale ahead just before the interval, a quick throw from Adam Yates released Mark Marshall who squared it for Dodds who swept the ball into the left hand corner.

The home team failed to dominate or create much  in the second half,  with Crawley again bringing the game level with a smart looping header from Izale McLeod in the 56th minute. McLeod then, minutes later, should have doubled his tally with a free header at the back post after poor defending from Port Vale, resulting in a smart stop from Neal.

Crawley ultimately did grab the winner on the  69th minute when a corner from Anthony Wordsworth was headed home by Centre Back Richard Wood, to send the brave and valiant 38 Crawley Town Supporters into ecstasy.

Port Vale threw on Strikers Ben Williamson and Achille Campion to try and save the game which proved fruitless.

Port Vale have now lost 3 home games in a row denting the clubs faint play off ambitions, on the other hand 3 wins in 4 away games for Crawley has closed the gap to safety on Crewe Alexandra to just 2 Points.

Attendance: 3,852

Port Vale

 Chris Neal – Made a smart stop near the end to deny Tomlin however was caught off his line for the equaliser. 6
 Adam Yates – Poor performance from the RB in his return to the team, had a hand in Vale’s second with the quick thinking throw but delivery into the box was again poor. 5
 Frederic Veseli – One of the better performers in a poor defensive display, looked calm and collective on the ball when bringing it out of the defense. 6
 Chris Robertson – Strong in the air again but another poor defensive display will question his starting place. 6
 Ryan McGivern – Another player who was recalled to the team. Did well in parts and had a good volley in the first half saved by Lewis Price. 6.5
 Mark Marshall – Frustrating performance from the winger, got a assist for the second with a smart ball however seemed to become more anonymous as the game progressed 6
 Michael O’Connor – After 2 excellent performances against Coventry and Swindon this was a poor display from O’Connor. He tried hard but nothing seemed to come off for the deep lying play-maker 5
 Michael Brown – Another solid display from the experienced 38 year old. Made crucial tackles to break up the play and gave his all 6.5
 Colin Daniel – Started brightly with some good strong runs and crosses, but just like his fellow winger Marshall faded as the game wore on 6
 Louis Dodds – Took his 2 goals excellently and was Vales best performer on the night and probably the only player who would of pleased with his display 8
 Tom Pope – Another poor performance from Pope. Failed to win headers when the ball was played up to him and lacked threat all game. 5

Substitutions

 Ben Williamson – Dropped for Louis Dodds but failed to show why he should be starting the next game, hardly created anything when bought on 5
 Tommy O’Sullivan – Making his second debut on loan from Cardiff City, misplaced a couple of passes 5
 Achille Campion – Been out of favour the past couple of weeks, but looked bright when bought on, had a good left footed volley go wide. 6

Crawley Town

Lewis Price – Looked nervous at the start with some wild kicks when the ball was played to him. Had no chance with the 2 goals and was rarely troubled in the second half. 6
Sonny Bradley – Was given a hard time by Colin Daniel in the opening 20 minutes however as the game wore on he settled. 6
Richard Wood – Well taken header from Wordsworth corner to grab the lead, was put under pressure in the first half but dealt with Pope easily in the second 6
Darren Ward – Handled Pope and Dodds well in the second half, started poorly though. 6
Lewis Young – The left back and brother of Man Utd winger Ashley Young had a lot on his plate against jinky winger Marshall however he stifled him well, especially in the second half. 6
Gavin Tomlin – The ex Port Vale Player worked hard throughout on the wing, should of scored in the second half when put through 1 on 1 but fired in straight at the keeper. 6.5
Lee Fowler – Strong midfield display up against the experienced Michael Brown. 6
Anthony Wordsworth – Good all round performance from the centre mid, got a big slice of luck with his goal from a deflection but Crawleys 2 other goals were from his resulting set pieces that Port Vale couldn’t deal with. 8
Ryan Dickson – The winger got some good balls into the box and troubled Vales RB Adam Yates. 6
Mathias Pogba – The ex Crewe Alexandra and brother of Paul Pogba linked up with well with the midfield and the forwards in his attacking midfielder role. 6.5
Izale McLeod – Grabbed his 17th goal of the season with a smart looping header, always a threat going forward and troubled the Vale back 4 at times. 7

Substitutions

Jimmy Smith – Brought on late on 6
 Dean Morgan – Brought on for Pogba in the 64th minute for some fresh legs 6
 Marvin Elliot – Brought on late on 6

Man of the Match

Man of the match : Anthony Wordsworth – Scored and created 2 in a much needed win for Crawley 8

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