Port Vale 1 Torquay United 2
Port Vale: Tomlinson; Collins, McCombe, Owen (Yates 30), K. Taylor, Dodds (R. Taylor 62), Griffith, Roberts, Rigg (Morsy 70), M. Richards, J. Richards. Subs : Bell-Baggie, Fraser, Martin, Malbon.
Goals: Griffiths
United: Bevan ; Robertson, Ellis, Branston, Nicholson, Zebroski (Kee 90), Wroe, Mansell, Carlisle, Stevens (O'Kane 59), Benyon (Gritton 85). Subs: Lathrope, Rowe-Turner, Charnock, Potter.
Goals: Wroe (pen), Zebroski
Yellow Cards: Nicholson, Benyon, Wroe, Mansell
Att: 5,750
If anyone was in doubt as to the current credentials of Torquay United being lauded as contenders in League 2 then this stirring win at fancied Port Vale will have put them straight. While one club record was eventually set with United finally conceding a goal after 998 minutes of league football they also set a second with four straight wins at the beginning of a season which will now be carried into next weekend's trip to Southend.
Bucks made one change to the team that started against Bradford City last weekend with Wayne Carlisle coming in to replace Billy Kee. With Wayne making his first start of the season it meant a move up front for Chris Zebroski with Elliot Benyon tucking in just behind him.
United got off to the perfect start in the 4th minute; Chris Zebroski did exactly what he was put up front to do and chased down a through-ball. Zebs was forced slightly away from goal but he got to the ball first and touched it away from Tomlinson who brought the Gulls striker down for a penalty. The referee deemed the offence a yellow card decision and Nicky Wroe stepped up to put last weekend's spot kick disappointment behind him and fire United into the lead in the fifth minute with a high finish down the middle.
Goal: Port Vale 0 United 1 (Wroe 6, pen)
Chris Zebroski had another chance to score in the 14th minute when he was again put through but his finish wasn't strong enough to beat Tomlinson on the angle from the edge of the area but the danger United possessed on the break was there for all to see.
Scott Bevan kept United's clean sheet record going in the 16th minute when he saved well to tip a Justin Richards shot from 18 yards wide for a corner as the home side pressed for an equaliser. Both teams had goals chalked off early on for offside as the match swung from one end to the other with some entertaining football provided by both sides.
Kevin Nicholson was booked for a tackle on Justin Richards in the 21st minute as Vale put the Gulls under a period of pressure. United haven't built their defensive excellence on luck and they withstood the onslaught with some brave blocking and positional good sense and arguably should have been more than one goal ahead after the first quarter of the match.
United did double their lead after confusion in the Vale ranks in the 28th minute when the home side left themselves with ten men on the pitch after defender Gareth Owen had to go off and before they could get a substitute on Kevin Nicholson swung an inswinging corner in which Elliot Benyon couldn't convert but Chris Zebroski could and he poked the Gulls into a two goal lead.
Goal: Port Vale 0 United 2 (Zebroski 28)
Despite being two goals down Vale were throwing everything at United and they pulled themselves back into the game and ended United's clean sheet record with a goal worthy of doing just that. Griffiths picked the ball up over 30 yards from United's goal and fired a superb right foot shot that kept low and gave Scott Bevan little chance of getting to it. United's record ended at an astonishing 998 minutes without conceding a league goal which will surely never be bettered by another United team?
Goal: Port Vale 1 (Griffiths 37) United 2
Despite the disappointment of conceding a goal United had no time to dwell on it as they were having to work their socks off not to concede a second as the home side now had their tails up and only some sloppy finishing kept United's now one goal lead intact.
A breathless first half ended with United deservedly leading, the home side had caused more than one moment of worry for the Gulls not least the period after scoring their goal but United could actually have been further ahead themselves before that moment and now the record run had ended there was nothing to take United's attention other than trying to claim the three points.
No changes at the break for United but they had to defend from the restart as the home side looked to impose themselves immediately. United were struggling to keep the ball for any length of time and this was playing in to the hands of Vale who were eager to get the ball back and keep their tempo going.
United always look dangerous on the break and not for the first time in this match Chris Zebroski had the run on the Vale defence and with a left foot shot from 12 yards out on the angle he was only narrowly wide of scoring United's third goal.
With United needing to keep the possession more often than they were at the start of the second period Bucks made a change with Eunan O'Kane replacing Danny Stevens. Eunan almost made the perfect start when he made a fantastic run past two defenders but Tomlinson saved his final effort. The change also meant that Elliot Benyon was now playing up front on his own with Zebroski switching back to a wide midfield role and O'Kane sitting in behind Benyon.
Coinciding with O'Kane's introduction United tempered the home side's impetus although Scott Bevan produced a fine double save from a Roberts free-kick and a follow-up from Richards before punching the ball away at the expense of a corner.
Chris Zebroski almost got United's third when his shot took a deflection off McCombe but skimmed past Tomlinson's goal with the Vale 'keeper beaten. United had definitely taken the steam out of the Port Vale attacking play but a third goal for the Gulls would be a welcome addition with twenty minutes remaining.
The second half wasn't as fluid as the first in terms of the football being played but with the lead United weren't too concerned if the game was becoming fractured although there was still flashes from the Gulls of some slick passing which has seen them to the top of League 2.
Elliot Benyon had given his usual 100% of effort and was given a well earned rest when Martin Gritton replaced him in the 85th minute. Port Vale were now struggling to keep any kind of pressure on United and the reasons that the Gulls had gone so long without conceding were proving too much for the home side. It was perhaps a statement of how good United's defensive set-up is right now that it took a 30 yard wonder shot to pierce their otherwise resolute stance in this match.
Moments from the end of normal time the excellent Mark Ellis cleared a Richards goalbound attempt off the line as Vale threw everything at United. Lee Mansell joined Nicholson, Wroe & Benyon in the referee's book after an underweight pass from Martin Gritton forced the United midfielder into a late challenge.
Right at the death Chris Zebroski was replaced by Billy Kee as the clock ran down through the four minutes of added-on time. United still had time to nearly finish things off in style when a break down the right ended with O'Kane forcing a fine save from Tomlinson with a 30 yard shot.
Full-Time: Port Vale 1 United 2
Some United supporters will be pinching themselves at the start the Gulls have made so far but the foundations for this excellent run were laid last season and Bucks has only continued the hard work that has been a feature of his managerial reign at Plainmoor. There is, of course, a long, long way to go this season but right now anyone with Torquay United close to their hearts will have a warm glow about them.
