The Wonder Of P.V.F.C.: Morecambe Vs Port Vale FA Cup 1st Round Saturday 10th November 2007

The road to Wembley starts here for the eighty teams in the first round proper today, and of course nobody expects any of the teams that start their FA Cup campaign today to still be in the competition much longer than January anyway, let alone for a final date at the new Wembley Stadium in May......

But you can dream, and in the FA Cup the dream for the majority of the teams in the first and second round is to get to the third round and pull out the plumb tie against Man United or Chelsea, and set the financial worries of being in footballs lower echelons to rest for another year. Today for Port Vale the game had another more pressing reason for wanting a victory. Lee Sinnott in his second match in charge was looking for his first victory as manager, and the players were looking for revenge after the embarrassing defeat on penalties a few weeks ago in the Johnson's Paint Trophy here, which left the team being described as nothing more than a pub side by then caretaker manager Dean Glover. All thoughts of a glamour tie had to be put to rest today as first and foremost a victory was needed.

The team was changed around from Tuesdays defeat to Crewe, some enforced, some due to injury. McGoldrick was withdrawn as Southampton didn't want him Cup Tied, Willock replaced him with Richards still not fit. Also Keith Lowe started due to Westwood having a slight hamstring pull. And new loan signing Marc Laird was thrust into the line up as well. But the biggest surprise by Lee Sinnotts team selection was the inclusion of 16 year old youngster James Lawrie from the youth team on the bench.

Vale started with purpose from the off, and Morecambe were stretched from Vale's first move as Willock blasted a shot over the bar. The home side were on the back foot again as Rodgers raced onto a pass from Laird, and he was brought down by Sorvel just outside the area. The resulting free kick was sent in by Whitaker towards the back post and captain George Pilkington met the ball with a great header past the stranded keeper and into the net for his first goal of the season, sending the 700 travelling Vale fans wild after only 6 minutes had been played.

From that moment on Vale could of added at least another couple of goals as wave after wave of Vale attacks stretched the home side and kept the play in their half. The pressure was relentless, and Marc Laird was creating some good chances for Rodgers, and the impressive Callum Willock on his return to the side. As Laird was winning the ball it allowed Rocastle to venture forward more and more and he tested the keeper twice in quick succession with rasping shots from outside the area.

The pressure told on 22 minutes as Vale added a second goal. The Morecambe keeper raced out of the area to try and clear a poor back pass to be met by the on-coming Luke Rodgers, who won the ball and laid on Willock. He composed himself in the 18 yard box and fired the ball into the roof of the net to put the Vale 2-0 up and score his first goal for the club. As Vale seemed to be on cruise control now, Morecambe began to put a bit of a fight into the match. Anyon saved well from a Baker 30 yard free kick, and a brilliant save pushed a shot from Stanley round the post on 35 minutes. Vale withstood the pressure well, and never looked like conceding a goal in the half, and Lee Sinnott would of been delighted with his teams first half performance.

Half Time Score Morecambe 0 - 2 Port Vale

The second half kicked off with Vale coming under a bit of pressure from the home side, but not enough to worry them this time, and gaps in the Morecambe defence soon started to appear again. The Vale had early second half shots from Talbot and Rocastle just go wide. Rodgers was a bit out of sorts on today's performance, and the Vale striker was feeling the pressure of some hefty challenges from former Crewe and Vale player Adam Yates.

The impressive Marc Laird was getting stuck in for the Vale in his first FA Cup match, and picked up a booking for a challenge on the halfway line. Callum Willock was looking to impress his new boss with a workman like performance today. When he was brought down just outside the area, the resulting free kick almost gave Vale a third goal. Rodgers hit the shot with venom, but it flew just inches over the bar into the visiting Vale fans.

Morecambe were unlucky not to pull a goal back, when a shot from Baker hit the crossbar after an impressive run down the wing. Sinnott appears to have galvanized the squad in the two games he has been in charge, and the players have responded to his methods, with players like Willock, who under Foyle looked poor, but now look like they could win matches for the team. As the half wore on Vale looked the more likely team to score, and had a 78th minute penalty appeal turned away by the referee. A great ball from Whitaker was chased down by Rodgers, and he was promptly brought down by the keeper, but the referee gave a foul for shirt pulling by Rodgers on the defender he had raced past.

As the tired legs began to show from Vale, Sinnott made two quick changes bringing on Tudor for Willock on 82 minutes, and Miles for Edwards on 86 minutes. It was great to see a Vale manager making tactical substitutions for a change, slowing the game down and wasting time the home side didn't have, and his final substitute on 93 minutes bringing on youngster James Lawrie to make his Vale debut, perhaps showed his intent to the travelling Vale fans, that he is a manager who is capable of bringing the best out of what he has for a squad, and that no matter the age of the player, he is not afraid to play them

Much to the delight and relief of the Vale players and fans the referee brought the game to an end, but more importantly Vale got the result they should of got here in the Johnsons Paint Trophy, looking more confident than they have all season, and hoping for a good Second Round tie to hopefully get them into that Third Round against one of the big teams. After witnessing his first win, manager Lee Sinnott had this to say about the game " I would rather fail trying than not to bother in that aspect. Sometimes, you take gambles and they don't come off, but you have to be prepared to take them and see things out. Yes we have brought players in, but I have only been in the job five days and I want to see these players for myself. Situation arise where people get an opportunity. It is up to them to take them with both hands. If you get the shirt, keep the shirt. This performance has given me a few thing to think about. And the young players showed their commitment to the club today also. James Lawrie was only drafted in when Hulbert failed his fitness test, and he didn't even have a shirt with his name or squad number on at 1.45, but we fixed him up and he made his debut. I don't care if the players are 16 or 40, if they can come on and do as I ask, and win us a game of help us into the next round of the cup and do a job for Port Vale, then they will be included. That is a message I want to send loud and clear to everyone around the club. " All in all Sinnott would of been proud to give the team all the credit they deserved today, and a big thumbs up from the boss was in order...