Vale made to fight for points

IT IS an old cliche in football but last week's Youth Three match at the Corbet Field certainly was 'a game of two halves'. The first was dominated by Vale Rec. They played the neater football against a bigger and stronger Rangers team.

Vale ran out 2-1 winners but they were made to fight for the points as the visitors mounted a superb fight back after going into the dressing room at half-time trailing 2-0.

Vale's David Hooper was the hero on the evening with two well-taken goals.

His first was a lobbed shot from 30 yards which was just the right height to beat Ben McVey in the visitors' goal. The second was a sweeping shot into the net after good work from Daniel Tulie.

Tom de Garis and Martyn Moullin orchestrated the midfield as Vale Rec made life hard for the Rangers defence.

Tom Le Huray had a steady debut for the home side at left back and both goalkeepers looked composed all evening. McVey pulled off some good saves and one in particular from Vale's Jordan Smith was of the highest quality.

The second half served up some excellent football from both sets of these talented under-14 footballers and Rangers started to pose problems for Tony Clarkson's lads.

The impressive Stefan Loveridge quickly pulled a goal back, which, in turn, gave the red-and-blacks a new determined look about them as they began to believe they could turn this game around.

John Taylor and Loveridge both started to look a threat as they made powerful runs at the Vale defence.

Clarkson then made the best tactical decision of the match when he switched the nippy Michael Batiste from right back to the left to nullify the speedy Loveridge and in all probability it won him the match.

Rangers' John Edwards had a great shot kicked off the line by Hooper and in the next attack Hooper just failed to grab his hat-trick as he shot tamely at the keeper.

Smith and James Bougourd should have increased the lead for Vale, but McVey was equal to their efforts and in a late attack, a superb pass from Batiste split the Rangers defence but his teammate Smith pulled his shot wide of McVey's post.

On the evidence of 70 minutes' play on a sticky pitch, Vale Rec deserved the points but Rangers worked hard in the second half and would have been happy to have gone home with a point.

Rangers' coach Chris Schofield had a broad smile at the final whistle, content that his young charges had given their best.

'We worked so hard in the second half and I thought Tom Herring did so well for us in defence tonight; he reads the game so well.'