Darren Moore’s Port Vale finally clicked into gear at Newport County to end a three-game winless run that had left them in the bottom half of the League Two table. The result marks a major improvement on their previous away game in the competition, where they were dismantled by Barrow by a four-goal margin.Â
Port Vale picked up their first League Two Team of The Week award having been on the wrong end of the previous winners from game weeks three and four, the latest being an impressive away win for league leaders Doncaster Rovers.
Newport County 1-4 Port Vale
It has been a summer of change at Vale Park and their new look-forward line put in an excellent performance to end Newport County’s three-game winning run. Jayden Stockley has been a regular goalscorer in League One in recent seasons and he marked his first start for Port Vale with a brace, including a bullet header to give the away side an early lead after just six minutes.
A mix-up in defence allowed Aaron Wildig to head home an equaliser but Stockley restored the lead by tapping home after Newport County failed to deal with a series of headers from a corner. 22-year-old Lorent Tolaj was the star of the show, providing two assists and rounding off the scoring with the fourth goal ten minutes into the second half.
The former Brighton academy prospect had five shots, completed three tackles and may have found a home in the ten role, having played on the right wing in the opening fixtures. His combination of play with Stockley’s dominant aerial presence provides a solid foundation up front that should continue to reap the rewards if both players remain fit.
Newport County will be disappointed by the sending of two of their players, which put to bed any slim hopes of a comeback. Both red cards were controversial, but the game was beyond them at 4-1 before the first sending-off just before the hour mark. Port Vale are a better side than their early season results suggested, but it might be a case of the manager taking time to bed in the new signings into a functioning outfit.
Upcoming Fixtures and Future Prospects
Port Vale host Chesterfield this weekend and Paul Cook’s side have been relatively impressive so far, sitting a point ahead of Darren Moore’s side. Their only defeat was 1-0 against Gillingham and they picked up a 5-0 win at last season’s play-off finalists Crewe Alexandra.
A trip to Accrington Stanley follows and this provides an opportunity to make it three away wins from four for Port Vale. Accrington have struggled in the early weeks and sit in 23rd with just two points heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures. There should be an expectation of picking up at least four points in these matches as the promise showed from Stockley, Ben Garrity, Benicio Baker-Boaitey and Tolaj indicate they have one of the strongest forward lines in the division.
They had been tipped to win the title before the season commenced and cannot be ruled out of that conversation yet, as no side has looked impenetrable after five matchdays. It may come down to Darren Moore finding a settled side, having fielded striker Ruari Paton in the starting line-up for the first league matches and the player struggling to make an impact.
Brighton loanee Baker-Boaitey has a very high ceiling in terms of his potential and should become a regular in the side as he is a better option outwide than Tolaj, who is devasting through the middle. It may have taken a month for the manager to find combinations that worked, partly down to new signings settling or fitness issues, but this Port Vale side has the capabilities to take the league by storm at this point.
