Brighton 0-0 Port Vale

I suppose we should be happy with a point away from home and a clean sheet. There were positives to take away from the game as well – 20-year-old Joe Anyon was superb again, the back four looked solid, new boys Rodgers & Kamara showed they were prepared to work hard for the team.

But lets look at it from another angle. We have now taken just two points from the last eighteen available. We have scored just two goals in those six games, neither from open play. We haven’t been able to create chances, and today was no different. Our best chance of the match was a Rodgers header (from a set-piece) which went narrowly wide. Strikers Constantine and Rodgers were starved of any service, despite Vale having the bulk of possession in the opening half hour, and we were unable to bring our new winger Malvin Kamara into the game.


Vale had the best of a dull first half without really threatening Brighton. A series of early corners for Vale led to nothing in a pedestrian opening twenty minutes.

Vale were forced into a substitution on 25 minutes with Ross Gardner (playing wide left) picking up an injury. Gardner was replaced by Danny Whitaker, who proved that he can be nothing-more-than-average in any midfield position.

Brighton stepped it up in the second-half, and began to apply some pressure. Anyon was forced into making three or four class saves, notably from Robinson and Butters, but the defence coped well with what Brighton threw at them.

Paul Harsley went off injured on the hour – taken out by a poor challenge – and was replaced by striker Akpo Sodje. Vale re-shuffled with Kamara going out to the left, Rodgers playing wide right and Whitaker tucking into the middle with Sonner. Although Akpo gave us a physical presence up front we were still unable to create anything clear cut.

Both sets of players, and fans, seemed please to hear the final whistle end a game which gave us little entertainment or quality.
Vale line-up
Joe Anyon

Mark McGregor
Goerge Pilkington
Michael Walsh
Jason Talbot

Malvin Kamara
Danny Sonner
Paul Harsley
Ross Gardner

Leon Constantine
Luke Rodgers


Substitutes

Paul Musselwhite
George Abbey 74 mins
Danny Whitaker 25 mins
Akpo Sodje 60 mins
Nathan Lowndes