Vale close the gap

Northerners 2, Vale Rec 3

A CRACKING second-half strike from Rory Moriarty last night saw Vale Rec close the gap on Bels in the FNB Priaulx League title race once more.

Even though both coaches agreed that champions North were unlucky to come away from this Grand Fort Road derby empty-handed, it was a goal worthy of winning any game.

Having fought their way back from a 2-0 deficit to go into half-time on level terms, Rec knew they needed to go that extra step and take maximum points to maintain a strong title challenge.

The decisive moment came in the 75th minute when the hosts paid the ultimate price for not clearing a James Mullen corner properly and Moriarty came onto the ball 20 yards out, hitting it sweetly first time with his left foot and it scorched through a crowd penalty area into the top corner.