First taste of defeat for Darrell Clarke’s Port Vale

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Darrell Clarke was painfully close to going three games unbeaten in his new reign as manager of Port Vale, however, a late thunderbolt from Liam O’Neil ensured all three points belonged to Cambridge.

The sun was beaming down in Burslem on Saturday afternoon ahead of kick-off and after a 15-minute delay due to an accident on the M6, Adam May got the ball rolling for the visitors.

The first chance fell to Clarke’s side ten minutes into the game. Kurtis Guthrie capitalised on Declan Drysdale’s lapse of concentration, nicking the ball from the defender before bursting through on goal. The striker looked set to open the scoring, but Callum Burton covered his angles well, producing a vital save.

Cambridge then managed to fashion a chance through Luke Hannant and Wes Hoolahan. The former teed up the latter with his back to goal, though the 38-year-old’s strike could only force a routine save from Scott Brown. 

With minimal clear cut chances produced, the half drew to a close with the scoreline goalless. 

May came no closer to opening the scoring in the second-half as his horrendous attempt flew over not only the crossbar but out of the stadium from just outside the Valiants’ box. It’s no surprise he blamed a bobble.

On the hour mark, Guthrie had another chance to grab his first goal in Vale colours. The forward rose highest to meet Tom Conlon’s corner, however, saw his effort blocked from close range.

Just over ten minutes had passed before Brown was again called into action for the home side.

O’Neil, who had just come on as part of a double substitution, met Hoolahan’s delivery and flicked his header towards goal. The Vale shot-stopper produced a quick reaction save, getting down low and keeping the ball out of his net.

The next clear-cut opportunity proved to be the decider as the U’s crept ahead with only five minutes of normal time remaining.

Paul Mullin’s attempted shot was blocked into the path of O’Neil who, at speed, absolutely pelted the ball into the top left-hand corner with a fantastic first-time finish to wrap up the victory.

Thanks to the substitute’s late thunderbolt, Mark Bonner’s side maintained their position at the top of the table, albeit by fine margins with a whole host of teams still well within reach.

For the Valiants, the result means that they drop two places to 20th as Vale fall precariously close to the relegation zone and will be looking to steer away from it as quick as possible.

Despite the defeat, there are still signs of progress under Clarke in the short period of time he’s spent at the club so far. They pushed a top outfit all the way and on another day they could have easily snatched three points for themselves.

Clarke was extremely vocal on the touchline throughout the match, constantly demanding more from his side – it appears he has a winning attitude.

Should performances continue to pick up and results start to follow, there is no reason why Port Vale cannot survive the drop this season and go on to have a successful spell with their new boss.

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