by Steve Shaw

PORT Vale boss Micky Adams refused to hurl hot cups of Lemsip in anger after seeing his side's winning run ended by against crisis-ravaged Cheltenham.

Both clubs suffered their fair share of trials and tribulations in the build-up to Saturday's 1-1 draw.

On paper the hosts looked a shoe-in to secure their fourth successive victory against a Robins outfit that had failed to record a win in their previous six League Two clashes.

Cheltenham, who arrived without a win in six matches, suspended boss Martin Allen on Tuesday over an alleged nightclub incident, leaving his number two, John Schofield, to take temporary charge.

Over in Burslem, meanwhile, Adams's preparations were severely disrupted as a virus swept through his first-team squad.

Several key players fell victim to the bug, including centre-halves Gareth Owen and Lee Collins, wing-back Kris Taylor and attackers Lewis Haldane and Marc Richards.

The outbreak meant Adams was only able to select his side on Saturday morning.

In the final roll-call, only defender Lee Collins remained in his sickbed as two spoonfuls of adrenalin and desire proved the best medicine in helping Vale take an early lead, courtesy of Marc Richards's ninth goal of the campaign.

The Valiants were the dominant force in the first half, but they visibly tired as the second period wore on, opening the door for Cheltenham to hit back.

They did so through Michael Pook's sublime long-range finish and, in truth, only wasteful finishing denied them all three points.

But in the circumstances Adams appeared content with the final outcome.

"As the game wore on we saw a little bit of tiredness creep into our boys," admitted Adams.

"I said 'well done' to them in the dressing room because they have emerged from their sickbeds this week.

"A lot of them could have thrown the towel in and said they didn't fancy it, but they had a go.

"There were a lot of people in that dressing room coughing and spluttering, in fact, I couldn't wait to get out of there.

"While we are slightly disappointed with the result, we will have to take it."

Adams revealed Collins missed out after suffering an allergic reaction to a dose of penicillin.

However, Adams stuck with his successful five-man defensive structure by recalling transfer-listed defender Luke Prosser.

The 21-year-old was making his first appearance in Vale colours this season following his successful loan spell at Blue Square Premier side Salisbury City.

Prosser did everything he could to catch Adams's eye and produced some good moments, especially during the first half when he laid on his side's goal.

At other times, however, he showed signs of rustiness and was a little erratic adjusting to a less-than-familiar system.

He was ably supported by virus victim McCombe, who laughed in the face of illness to deliver an assured display.

Prosser came to the fore in the second minute when he pumped a long ball into the left channel, where Lewis Haldane angled a shot against the outside of the left upright.

The defender repeated the trick in the ninth minute when his long diagonal delivery found Richards in the box.

After calmly controlling the ball, Vale's top scorer was afforded all the time and space he needed to calmly guide his shot into the bottom corner.

Richards celebrated by rugby-tackling club mascot Boomer, before the mutt's decapitated head was amusingly tried on for size by wing-back Sam Stockley.

Prosser then built on his good attacking work by halting the advances of striker Elvis Hammond on the edge of the box.

Vale were producing some neat build-up play, but failed to double their advantage from two wicked left-flank crosses provided by Haldane and Taylor.

The latter delivery was guided into the side-netting at the far post by a fully-extended McCombe.

On 28 minutes, Prosser's poor headed clearance fell to Hammond, but his unconvincing 12-yard effort was deflected to safety.

Ten minutes later Prosser's rasping 30-yard drive had to be beaten away by Robins keeper Scott Brown before Louis Dodds' follow-up was blocked.

Cheltenham almost snatched an unlikely equaliser when Pook fired in a powerful 16-yard effort. However, an agile Stockley cleared the danger off Vale's goal-line with a diving header.

Just before the break, midfielder Anthony Griffith earned his fifth booking of the season, and a one-match ban, for a reckless challenge on Drissa Diallo.

Vale started the second period brightly with Brown called upon again to palm away Richards's neatly struck 20-yard strike.

Both sides spurned half-chances, before Vale keeper Chris Martin spilled Pook's effort from distance, while Taylor mopped up with Cheltenham's Theo Lewis in close attendance.

But Pook made no mistake in the 66th minute when David Bird's long throw was cleared to the edge of the box.

The midfielder sent the ball back with interest by rifling an unstoppable 25-yard shot beyond Martin's out-stretched arm and into the top right-hand corner.

Vale should have regained the lead moments later, but an unchallenged Haldane could only glance Stockley's delicious right-flank cross beyond the far left-hand post from eight yards.

As virus-fuelled fatigue started to set in, Adams injected his own medication by throwing on attacker Rob Taylor and midfielder Tommy Fraser for Haldane and Anthony Griffith in the 73rd minute.

But it was Cheltenham who looked most likely to go on and win the game in the latter stages as Hammond and Bird spurned decent chances.

In the 87th minute McCombe rescued his side with a well-timed tackle to prevent Hammond breaking clear.

The result drops Vale one place to 13th in the table after extending their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions – a feat they last achieved in early 2002.

Goal-scorer Richards insisted it had been a tough 90 minutes after suffering with a virus.

The striker said: "I felt pretty tired on Saturday, to be honest.

"I've had this bug for more than a week and nearly didn't play against Crewe.

"But I tried to get some rest in last week and did the best I could, although I'm still a bit chesty.

"A lot of the lads have been struggling. If we had a bigger squad, and more depth experience-wise, maybe the gaffer would have rested a few.

"But a few lads did get out of their sickbeds to play and credit to them.

"We worked hard, but couldn't get that second goal."