by Steve Shaw

PANTOMIME season was in full swing at Sixfields as three penalties and a sending-off in the space of 10 minutes saw Vale register their 11th league draw.

Like every festive yarn, this production boasted its own mix of characters, but it was referee Mick Russell who was inevitably cast as the chief villain.

The Hertfordshire official took centre stage in the game's pivotal moments when a largely uninspiring script peaked either side of half-time as Valiants defender John McCombe saw red.

Two minutes before the break, Northampton giant Adebayo Akinfenwa displayed a lighter touch on the edge of Vale's area with a back-heel that laid the ball into the path of a rampaging Paul Rodgers.

The midfielder burst into the area, but was sent crashing to the ground by Tommy Fraser's last-gasp sliding challenge, which earned Vale's skipper a booking.

But the Fairy Godmother, goalkeeper Chris Martin, showed how determined he is to attend League Two's play-off ball by hurling himself to his left to palm away Akinfenwa's spot-kick.

There was a twist in the mini-drama a minute into first-half injury-time when Vale's Rob Taylor lofted a hopeful ball forward from the right flank.

Dean Beckwith's tentative headed back-pass invited Louis Dodds to pounce and earn his side a penalty.

Dodds cut across keeper Chris Dunn, who upended the 23-year-old with a clumsy challenge that was also punished by a yellow card.

Striker Marc Richards showed his counterpart how to dispatch a penalty by confidently sweeping the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.

Vale looked on course to record only their second win in nine league matches against a Northampton side that relied heavily on the powerful shape of Akinfenwa.

And it was the striker who helped turn the game on its head five minutes after the break when he latched on to Ryan Gilligan's precise through-ball.

The 4,132-strong crowd resisted the temptation to scream "he's behind you" as McCombe and fellow defender Lee Collins gave chase.

McCombe blatantly tugged back Akinfenwa, but initial contact was clearly made outside the box before the striker cleverly advanced a few yards before tumbling over.

Akinfenwa obviously took note of Richards's goal as he drilled his second penalty into the same corner.

Manager Micky Adams had no qualms about Russell's decision to award the first two penalties, but was less-than-impressed with the third one, which saw McCombe red-carded.

Adams also criticised Russell's lack of consistency for failing to dismiss Dunn in similar circumstances.

"For me, the first offence was outside the box and I asked the linesman who gave the penalty and he agreed with me," said Adams.

"He said the first offence was outside the box, but he said the ref played advantage – that's disappointing.

"The referee tried to be everyone's mate. I told him at the end of the game that instead of doing that, just do the job properly – that's all we ask for as managers.

"Once he allows the play to continue and the player's in the box it's a sending off, I'm not arguing with that.

"If he's given the penalty for an offence inside the box, then not a problem, but it was committed outside the box.

"Referees are judged on major decisions and they have to get those right."

McCombe's dismissal turned a probable Vale win into an uphill struggle, although to his credit, Adams refused to surrender against the lowly Cobblers.

By changing his 3-4-3 system to something resembling 4-4-1, he offered his side the tools to offer some kind of attacking threat.

But they still had to defend manfully for what turned out to be a valuable point.

Defenders Gareth Owen – who returned to the side wearing his trusty face mask to protect an injured cheekbone – and Collins often put their bodies on the line for the cause.

Vale suffered a blow in the opening minutes when Anthony Griffith was momentarily knocked unconscious after clashing heads with Rodgers.

Griffith regained his senses, but was replaced after 25 minutes by Doug Loft.

Soon after, Dunn did well to parry Richards's 25-yard free-kick before Martin produced an excellent tip-over to deny Courtney Herbert's ferocious angled drive.

The hosts were keen to unleash the power and pace of the likes of Akinfenwa and Herbert.

Meanwhile, the visitors tried hard to engineer chances with a more patient passing approach through midfield.

Owen connected with a Fraser corner around the half-hour mark, but the defender's tame 10-yard header was comfortably controlled and cleared by Gilligan.

Akinfenwa was a thorn in Vale's side for most of the afternoon and continued to pose a threat after netting his ninth goal of the season.

But while Northampton displayed full-bloodied commitment, they failed to carve open Vale's resolute defence at regular intervals.

However, Martin had to be on his toes to beat away Gilligan's dangerous 72nd-minute cross, before standing tall to keep out a 12-yard drive from substitute Gary Mulligan.

Vale were limited to a few speculative efforts, including Kris Taylor's edge-of-the-box half volley, which flew wide in the 82nd minute.

Mulligan wasted Northampton's last clear-cut chance to claim the spoils soon after, by misfiring from close range.

Adams added: "I'm disappointed with a point. The game turns on the sending off, which is disappointing.

"Getting a point away from home you'd say 'great', but with the greatest respect to Northampton, I think they were there for the taking.

"If we had 11 men on the pitch we win the game."

"Obviously Chris did well saving the penalty and going in 1-0 up at half-time we settled for that and I could only see one winner."

And while Adams criticised his team's inability to retain possession and maintain their revised shape after McCombe's dismissal, he was pleased with their defensive efforts.

"You have to say it was a battling performance once we went down to 10 men and I'm delighted to get something out the game for our supporters," said Adams.