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PORT VALE V IMPS REPORT
Tuesday 20th March 2001 - LDV Vans Trophy - Northern Section Final Second Leg
At Vale Park - Kick Off 7:45pm GMT

LINCOLN CITY can be proud that they recorded a respectable scoreless draw against an impressive Second Division team, in the second leg of the LDV Vans Trophy Northern Area Final. The scoreless draw did not come easy however.

A trio of superb saves from Alan Marriott denied Vale taking a 3-0 aggregate lead and killing the tie. But the action does not stop there! Astoundingly, the woodwork came to the rescue three times, in an enthralling second half where Port Vale dominated as Buckley’s men lost all shape in an attempt to reduce the 2-0 deficit.

Nevertheless, the Imps bow out of the LDV Vans Trophy in a highly entertaining style.

Alan Buckley made a double change – Jason Barnett coming in for the cup-tied Chris Perkins and in midfield, Richard Peacock returned to the ranks to replace the crocked Paul Smith. Otherwise, the line-up remained the same.

With just 2 minutes on the clock, Peter Gain drifted past two defenders before finding room for a shot, which keeper Mark Goodlad turned round the post for the first City corner. In the early stages, the midfield promptings of Walker and Gain especially looked encouraging, while Vale appeared content to keep things tight.

Five minutes gone, Lincoln seeked an early breakthrough, as Tony Battersby sent a rasping drive goal bound after Thorpe’s headed flick from a long-range Bimson free kick, but Goodlad was on hand to deny City a crucial opener. The rhythmic flowing football that Alan Buckley has installed in his men had begun to be expressed in the opening exchanges.

Vale midfield dynamo Alex Smith pressed forward with pace, evading tackles from Peacock and Finnigan, settling for Vale’s first corner on 9 minutes. Soon after tough-tackler Welsh made a solid block as Smith again tried his luck from long-range. Finnigan snapped at the feet of Brooker to halt a swift home attack, but also to highlight the competitive edge of the game.

Neither side were able to register any clear-cut chances on goal, due to the final through ball of some good spells of football lacking accuracy or weight. On 25 minutes, a quick and precise link-up between Smith and Bridge-Wilkinson, exposed City, allowing Tony Naylor to gallop into acres of space, but Holmes produced a timely tackle. Minutes later, to continue this spell of pressure, Brammer was in on the angle, but the linesman ruled him offside and so the City fans caught their breath.

Alan Marriott was sprung into action, to pull off his first notable save of the first 33 minutes. A powerful strike from Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, connecting with venom from a Naylor cross, was tipped over by Marriott. A chance missed, rather than a chance created. The Imps produced 10 minutes of patient play before the half-time whistle blew to round off an evenly combated but slightly Vale dominated first forty-five.

Paul Miller was introduced as a second-half substitute, in an attempt to find a little more penetration at the Port Vale end. Alan Buckley made it clear of his attacking intentions for the second period, in hope that his side can find that goal. Miller immediately mad ea forward run, to supplement, the front tow of Thorpe and Battersby. 4-3-3 was now the formation.

On 52 minutes, Vale showed their neat footballing style as an interchange of passes between danger man Smith and Brammer – breaking to Naylor who shot – was headed high and away by Steve Holmes. Lincoln responded though when Holmes was up again to head towards goal forcing Goodlad to scramble the ball wide. From the resulting corner, Thorpe was out muscled by Burton who cleared well.

As the hour mark approached, City earned themselves another corner credit to their quicker, crisper and more attack minded football. However, Vale had a glorious chance on 62 minutes, when they stepped up the gear on the break. Naylor played in Bridge-Wilkinson, but the out coming Marriott made a fine parry to deny the home side killing the tie. Two corners in succession for Horton’s second division side increased the pressure but City stood firm with their backs to the wall.

As the tempo increased from here on in, Battersby made an exquisite side foot pass into the path of Miller, his shot failing to trouble Mark Goodlad. With twenty minutes of this second leg remaining, Alan Buckley opted for a bit of height and weight up front to try and make a difference. Dave Cameron was introduced, replacing Peter Gain, to join Battersby and Thorpe up front. Miller showed his versatility by slotting back into midfield. It was do or die now as moments passed, without City finding the net.

Bimson then broke forward settling for a corner. Justin Walker disposed Brammer at the heart of the midfield and released Cameron, whose first touch cost him dearly. While the visitors committed more men forward in desperation, Vale used the counter-attack effectively to keep the Lincoln rearguard full on guard.

Port Vale should have gone 1-0 in front, when a steering drive from Brammer had Marriott beaten, but his right hand post came to the rescue, on 79 minutes. Cummins went on a determined run down the tight, crossing to Naylor and just when he was about to find the back of the net, Holmes charged him down. Two minutes later, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson latched onto a soft back pass, which Marriott rushed out to smother. Vale had a second crack of the whip after Battersby put pressure on his own defence.

For the second time in ten minutes, the Second Division side hit a post again, as the situation became rather frantic at the back for Lincoln. A minute later, Alan Marriott produced a superb point-blank save, from around 6 yards out, to keep out Tony Naylor’s effort. In the chaotic closing stages, Jason Barnett was accused of handball in hi own penalty area. The referee had a long hard look at the incident, smiled and dismissed the cries. Naylor found himself through on goal, but once again Marriott was indebted to the woodwork, as the ball bounced from the angle of the bar and post.

The full time whistle blew, to the joy of the Port Vale support and to the joy of the Lincoln fans (around 300) for surviving such a chaotic onslaught of pressure, especially in the second period.

MATCH STATS
	PORT VALE		V	LINCOLN CITY
STARTING LINE-UP
	Mark Goodlad (gk) Michael Cummins Matt Carragher Michael Walsh Sagi Burton Alex Smith Dave Brammer Neil Brisco Mark Bridge-Wilkinson Tony Naylor Steve Brooker			Alan Marriott (gk) Jason Barnett Steve Welsh Steve Holmes Stuart Bimson Richard Peacock Justin Walker John Finnigan (c) Peter Gain Lee Thorpe Tony Battersby
FORMATION
	5-3-2			4-4-2
SUBSTITUTIONS
	Dean Delaney (gk) Allen Tankard Tommy Widdrington Ville Viljanen Michael Twiss			David Greenwood (gk) James Dudgeon Ben Sedgemore Paul Miller (Richard Peacock h/t) Dave Cameron (Peter Gain 67)
GOALS

BOOKINGS
	RED	YELLOW		RED	YELLOW
					Dave Cameron (87)
IMPS ONLINE MAN OF THE MATCH
	ALAN MARRIOTT - The young goalkeeper, showed no signs of ‘lacking match practice’ as he produced three top-drawer stops to deny the home side running away with things. Shot stopping was outstanding, claiming crosses was much more comfortable, and he clearly expressed his growing confidence. With performances like tonight, he will surely remain Lincoln’s first choice number 1.