The Wonder Of P.V.F.C.: Port Vale Vs Doncaster Rovers Saturday 24th November 2007

Let's not beat around the bush here this was crap, the second half performance was from a team that seems destined to be in League Two next season. The weekly collapsing defence appears to have returned again after it had seemed the corner had been turned. Even the deduction of 10 points for Luton Town after they were put into administration could not stop Vale from finishing the weekend on the bottom of League One, four points from safety, and appearing to be on a self destruct mission this season. This was the seventh defeat in ten home games this season, and with the ever looming Christmas and New Year heavy fixture list almost upon us, the team needs to get its act together very soon, or the inevitable result from these kind of performances will result in relegation.

The first half could not of started any brighter for Vale. From the off Vale got stuck into the visitors with some hefty challenges to break up their passing rhythm, and from the first attack on the Rovers goal a corner resulted in Vale taking the lead. Harsley had already put in a good cross for a corner just knocked out by a Doncaster defender for another one for Vale. This time the ball was met by Pilkington just on the six yard line and fired past keeper Sullivan to make it 1-0 on 10 minutes.

Vale continued to press and Harsley was picked out by Richards after a good passing move by Vale but his shot went high over the crossbar. Doncaster eventually gave Vale something to think about on 18 minutes when a powerful shot from Hayter produced a diving save from Anyon. As the visitors tried to gain a foothold in the game, the battling performance from Vale had them almost camped in the Doncaster half.

Harsley was not put off from his miss and was a real threat in the midfield. He helped Vale in winning most of the 50-50 balls, and some creative work led to Rocastle and Laird going close for the home side. Willock was also proving to be a thorn in the Doncaster defence, and a powerful run led to a great ball through to Rodgers, who forced a good save from Sullivan. For one of the first times this season the team went off at half time looking confident and in control of the match, and Sinnott would have nothing but praise for his players after the visitors were kept at bay with a good hard working performance. What could possibly go wrong?

Half Time Score Port Vale 1 - 0 Doncaster Rovers

If Lee Sinnott has learned anything today it will be not to underestimate how games can change from one half to the next. From one of the best first half performances of the season to one of the worst. Doncaster came out for the second half on a mission. Vale had been hard but fair in their approach in the first half, and when the visitors played them at their own game they crumbled like a house of cards in a spell that left the home fans reeling. Former Vale loanee James O'Connor should of helped level things from almost the first kick of the half when a pass left Guy unmarked with only Anyon to beat, but he appeared stunned at his opportunity, and fired wide when it seemed easier to score. The home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief in unison, but worse was to come.
O'Connor was proving to be a problem, and another great ball to Guy left him again in the clear and able to shoot at goal unmarked, but again his effort went wide and left Vale hanging on to the lead. Six minutes later the same two players combined again, this time with Guy hitting the net with a header to level the score on 59 minutes. Vale tried to step up the pressure again, but it was Doncaster who took the lead after some woeful defending. Westwood was to blame for losing his man on 68 minutes, when Hayter ran clear past him after a great ball from Wellens before sliding the ball past Anyon.

Almost immediately Sinnott took off Willock and replaced him with Edwards to try and create some width to the play. But with the three points in the bag Doncaster were in no mood to concede again, and Vale struggled to get hold of the ball, with the midfield looking inept and unable to do the simplest of tasks, like passing to team-mates, of winning tackles, which they had done so well in the first half.

With the clock ticking down Sinnott threw on Richards for the tiring Harsley. But as Richards was jogging to get into position, Wellens raced past the Vale defence to latch onto Coppingers long ball before sweeping the ball past Anyon to make it 3-1 on 81 minutes. The game was all but over when Sinnott brought on new loan signing Salmon for Laird on 88 minutes, and the only thing left was for a rather tame header from Richards that Sullivan saved with ease right on time.

A rather downbeat Sinnott said after the match " It was maybe a fair result as we made error's and contributed to our own downfall. You can't afford to do that, it really is back to basics now. I've had a chat with the players and we have to move on from here, I didn't expect to walk into the job and for every week be completely positive. You will take knocks. We have taken one today and its up to us as a group to stand up and be counted and rectify it. " When asked about how recent comments about how certain players had received barracking's from certain sections of the crowd at home Sinnott responded by praising the fans for the recent backing of the players in recent matches. He said " Looking at the job coming in, we have had two good away performances at Morecambe and Oldham. We also performed well against Crewe, although we didn't get the result. I am going to have to get psychological when we play at Vale Park. That is not aimed at the supporters as they have been magnificent. It would of been easy for then to of been more vociferous, in a negative way, after how Doncaster took control of the game. It is important to get into the minds of the players a little bit with their attitude to playing at home. If you lose so many games at the start of the season you are going to have a negative mindset. It is my job to get that out of their system as soon as possible. "

Final Score Port Vale 1 - 3 Doncaster Rovers

Port Vale Line Up