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We started relatively slowly as we weighed up the Port Vale defence but it didn't take too long for us to carve out a chance. Lewis Craig was played in down the right and his cross found Turner in the box, but the striker was guilty of a poor shot selection and he screwed it wide off the outside of his foot. It didn't matter too much though as within minutes we had taken the lead. A booming headed clearance from Lynch was flicked on in the centre of the park by Chris Anderson and MacDonald was put clear. He made no mistake as he fought off the defender and slipped it past the keeper.
It was very much one-way traffic as we looked to exploit a static and slightly high line. We were however guilty of a little over-keenness as we found ourselves offside a number of times. MacDonald was unlucky with a chipped effort from distance when he was released down the right by Dil Chaggar and you sensed our second goal was not long in coming. Turner duly obliged, albeit rather fortuitously. Played through the defence he surged on and rounded the keeper, whose swinging leg clipped the ball up into the big striker's face. He kept his composure though and fought of a defensive challenge to guide the ball home.
Craig should have hit the back of the net on the half hour mark after unselfish play from MacDonald. The little striker cut into the right hand side of the box and picked out the loitering winger, but his goalbound effort hit the back of a sliding defender. This signalled the beginning of a five minute spell when Vale looked like they might reduce the arrears. A smart shot on the turn, just inside the box, crept inches wide and a long range effort cracked the post with Stef Ritchie at full stretch.
We didn't allow our visitors to go in on a high though as we scored another slightly fortuitous goal on the brink of the break. MacDonald hit a direct free kick from 25 yards, which deflected off the wall and found the back of the net off the post.
Vale started the half with an attack, again hitting the post, though this time through a towering header. We countered that though by immediately scoring a fourth. A free kick from the half way line was floated into the box and MacDonald ghosted in and stabbed home to claim the match ball.
MacDonald again attempted to become provider as he burst in on the left before looking up and spotting the advancing Adam Kay. The captain took the ball, shifted it to his right to take out a defender and shot, but he too was blocked on the line by a diving defender. A rout was well and truly on the cards soon after though as Bradley was fouled 40 yards from goal. He quickly bounced up and took a clever, quick free kick, finding Turner in the box and the forward smashed home a left footed volley.
Substitutions were made by us with a triple change seeing Harvey, Hoskin and Brown replace Stott, Lynch and Chaggar. Unsurprisingly this upset our rhythm a little and some scrappy play ensued. A player was booked on each side, with Kay being our recipient. Then a Vale substitute was shown a straight red card for an horrendous challenge on Harvey. Some lunatic next to me said we'd now go on to win 8-0. We did have around 25 minutes remaining but unfortunately we just couldn't unlock the Vale defence.
Turner had a header cleared off the line, while MacDonald saw his effort find only the keepers gloved hands. Turner then blazed a shot on the turn over and hit straight at the goalie when he wrestled his way past a defender and burst free. The last effort of the game was attached to the best move. Adam Kay latched onto the ball in the centre of the park. He shimmied past and surged away from his marker and released MacDonald. The forward advanced down the right wing and, approaching the box, looked up to see Kay sneaking around the full back. He found him and the captain controlled well and clipped it past the keeper. Unfortunately for him it bounced back off the post and Turner couldn't react quickly enough to force it past the two defenders who had dropped on it.
The Referee then seemed to remember he had an afternoon appointment and duly blew the final whistle 4 minutes early, or we may juts have found the 3 extra goals that the eternal optimist had predicted.
Team :- Stef Ritchie, Matt Lomas, Thomas Bradley, Dean Stott (Dan Brown), Chris Lynch (Ben Hoskin), Adam Kay, Chris Anderson, Dil Chaggar (Alex-Ray Harvey), Lewis Craig, Rob Turner, Alex MacDonald. Subs not used:- Jon Sergeant, James Craggs.