Some Of The Crowd Are On The Pitch!

Vale go to Shrewsbury Town on Saturday in a match that will evoke stunning memories for those who witnessed the dramatic finale from last season’s clash at The Pro-Star Stadium.

A 96th minute goal from Marc Richards gave us a 2-1 victory (for Shrewsbury keeper Luke Daniels a visit to A&E), and was the trigger for an exhilarating mini pitch invasion from the Vale faithful. It was electric.



I very nearly didn’t go. I woke up that Saturday morning twelve months ago with a devastating hangover – vision blurred, wave after wave of excruciating pain tormenting my head, deep pangs of nausea rising from my stomach. I crawled out of bed purely to find somewhere to die quietly, the stale taste of lager, black sambuca, tobacco and a donor kebab still there in my mouth. I was in a shoddy state. Completely shot to pieces. No, a trip to Shrewsbury would definitely be a bridge to far.

Added to this were the circumstances in which we were meeting Shrewsbury, and the contrast in fortunes between the two clubs. Shrewsbury were strong contenders for promotion at the time, we had just appointed the hapless Dean Glover as our Manager. A demoralising pounding was on the cards for Vale.

So, given all the above, how come I ended up going?



Well, I got better! Here’s the script – two paracetamol with a pint of water, a mug of coffee with two sugars, a bacon sandwich, two raw eggs cracked into a pint glass and topped up with tomato juice (stirred, not shaken. Tabasco sauce & black pepper optional), ten minutes under the shower. The ultimate hangover cure. Believe me, it works.

Mind and body galvanised my journey began. The train to Shrewsbury, changing at Wolverhampton. Arriving at Shrewsbury and jumping into a taxi to the ground. Quickly knocking back a couple of bottles of lager before finding myself a seat.

Vale were amazing. Louis Dodds gave us the lead in the first half, we looked tight at the back, competed hard in midfield and looked far better than our opponents, who were well above us in the lead. With the end of the game in sight we went down to ten men, Lee Collins receiving a red after picking up two yellows. Could we hold out until the final whistle? No, we couldn’t. Shrewsbury found themselves an equaliser on 90 minutes. Over to our right began the taunts from Shrews fans, one fat knacker even had the gall to attempt to get onto the pitch in order to subject us to his goading. Tensions were rising.



The fourth official puts up his board and its six minutes of added-on time. Shrewsbury have the opportunity to snatch the game from us. I am gutted, people around me are gutted. They hit the post, my heart is in my mouth waiting for that pregnant pause before the fans at the opposite end go wild, but it doesn’t happen. What does happen though is incredible. Louis Dodds plays a beauty of a through ball for Marc Richards, our leading scorer makes a complete hash of his first touch – playing the ball way too far in front of him, but he doesn’t give up and slides in on the Shrewsbury keeper and somehow finds the corner of the net. Shrewsbury want a free-kick, but they are not getting one. We erupt. We go wild. It’s a fantastic release of emotion, people on the pitch in celebration. Surely it cannot be this good again?

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