Lincoln City 1, Port Vale 2 - Match report

by Steve Shaw

LOUIS Dodds celebrated his recall for Port Vale by sweeping home the winner in last night's 2-1 victory at Lincoln City.

Striker Marc Richards scored his first goal in nine games to hand Vale a first-half lead.

But 19-year-old goalkeeper Chris Martin gifted Lincoln an equaliser just after the break when he allowed Eric Lichaj's long throw to slip through his fingers and into the net.

However, his error was rendered meaningless when Dodds hit Vale's winner just before the hour mark to seal the club's first win in six league games.

Vale were still smarting from their FA Cup exit at the weekend when they suffered a 1-0 home defeat against League One side Huddersfield Town.

By contrast, the Imps were glowing after earning a third-round tie at Premier League outfit Bolton Wanderers with a 3-1 success at Northwich Victoria.

However, Lincoln boss Chris Sutton had more pressing concerns.

Prior to kick-off, his side were hovering just two places, and four points, above the relegation zone.

To continue the FA Cup theme, Adams selected the same starting line-up that secured last month's 1-0 first-round replay win at non-league Stevenage Borough – a decision which meant recalls for Dodds and Jason Jarrett.

Fellow central midfielder Anthony Griffith retreated to right wing-back, replacing Adam Yates, who like centre-half Luke Prosser, dropped to the bench.

As defender Gareth Owen continues to recover from a fractured cheekbone, Kris Taylor switched to centre-half, while his left wing-back berth was filled by attacker Rob Taylor.

Loan striker Lewis Haldane was making his last appearance before heading back to parent club Bristol Rovers at the end of his latest one-month loan spell.

Striker Geoff Horsfield, who made 17 appearances for the Imps last season, was named as a substitute.

Meanwhile, skipper Tommy Fraser served the final game of a three-match suspension.

Sutton handed a league debut to former Valiants loanee Chris Herd, who joined the Sincil Bank outfit from Aston Villa last week, on a one-month loan deal.

The 20-year-old midfielder made 11 starts for Vale during their 2007-08 League One relegation season.

Striker Delroy Facey, who has joined the Imps on loan from Notts County, was handed a full debut.

Former Valiants keeper Paul Musselwhite, who made more than 350 appearances for the club, settled for a place in the bench.

Herd's advances were halted on the edge of the box in the opening minutes by defender Lee Collins who snuffed out the Australian's long-range effort.

Herd had a better chance to break the deadlock on five minutes when his headed flick-on guided Lichaj's long throw towards the far right-hand corner.

A back-tracking Martin clawed the ball away from his goal-line, laying the ball on a plate for Facey, who missed a gilt-edged chance by lashing wide from close range.

Vale's travelling support, tucked away in one corner of Sincil Bank's sparsely populated stadium, were given encouragement when their team responded by winning a few corners.

Kris Taylor's eighth-minute corner fell invitingly for Dodds, whose low 10-yard drive was turned around the post by Imps keeper Rob Burch.

The game took on a scrappy complexion over the next 15 minutes as the evenly-matched sides indulged in football's version of shadow boxing.

The game came alive again in 26th minute, though, when Jarrett blazed over from distance before Martin produced two excellent diving saves to deny substitute Chris Fagan on both occasions.

The first arrived after Jarrett hauled down the rampaging Shane Clarke on the edge of Vale's area. Fagan stepped up, but could only watch on as Martin dived to his left to beat away his ferocious set-piece.

Three minutes later, Griffith's foul 25 yards from Vale's goal offered Fagan another set-piece opportunity from an almost identical position.

This time, Fagan's lower and more venomous strike was finger-tipped on to right-hand post by Martin.

From the resulting corner, Imps loan defender Nathan Baker headed over.

Vale were failing to produce any chances of note, while they were conceding too many needless free-kicks.

Lichaj rifled over just after the half-hour mark before Shane Clarke's speculative effort from 25 yards was deflected to safety.

But, with just four minutes of the half remaining, Richards showed great alertness to break the deadlock.

Facey lost possession with a header before the visitors launched the ball forward.

Midfielder Scott Kerr attempted to clear, but in misjudging his leap, produced an unintended back-header that set Richards clear.

The striker beat Burch to the ball while his cute finish, from 14 yards, found the far right-hand corner of the net.

But Martin's howler two minutes after the break handed the hosts the break they so desperately needed.

Lichaj, doing his best impression of Stoke City's 'sling-shot' midfielder Rory Delap launched a seemingly misdirected long throw, from the left, towards Martin's near post.

The teenager came to execute a regulation catch, but somehow contrived to spill the ball over his own goal-line.

Facey's miserable evening continued in the 52nd minute when his unchallenged 12-yard shot flashed wide of the post.

Vale did their best to respond with midfielder Doug Loft shooting over from distance two minutes before Dodds restored their lead.

Loft slipped in Richards down the right channel, and he cut the ball back inside for Dodds, who swept the ball into the far left-hand corner with a convincing sweet strike.

On 78 minutes, Facey completed a hat-trick of terrible misses when he met a precise cross only to miss the target with a close-range header, leaving home fans shaking their heads in disbelief.

That proved to be Lincoln's last clear- cut chance as the Valiants held on for a morale-boosting victory.