Port Vale 1 Crawley Town 0: Reds lose on the road
Despite plenty of attacking threat from Reds, a 21st minute goal on the rebound by the Valiants’ Luke Hannant decided the game.
Fans gave a minute’s applause for Port Vale fan Tony Evans who died during Port Vale’s opening game of the season.
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Hide AdHarry Kewell handed first league starts to new signings Rob Milsom and Reece Grego-Cox.
Josh Payne was on the bench and Dominic Poleon was serving a suspension for being sent-off during Tuesday night’s defeat to Bristol Rovers in the Carabao Cup.
Hannant scored the only goal of the game in the 21st minute when he followed up a shot an initial shot by David Worrall which was well saved by Glenn Morris.
Vale continued to press and Ricky Miller found himself in space and shot from 25 yards which flew narrowly over the bar.
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Hide AdLewis Young had the best chance for Crawley in the first half but his cross goalwards hit the post and rebounded out of the dangerzone.
Just before half-time Milson won the ball off an opponent and set-up Filipe Morais, whose shot flew narrowly off-target.
Reds started the second half well with Milsom playing a fine ball in to Palmer who headed wide.
Young forced Michael Brown to make a save with an on-target header.
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Hide AdCrawley continued to work hard for an equaliser and Ollie Palmer had a double chance which was blocked and then deflected allowing the keeper to gather.
Then a move involving Morais, Young and Palmer ended with Palmer saving well from close-range.
Substitute Panutche Camara fired over from inside the area.
Then Morais appeared to have scored a brilliant goal but in fact the ball hit the side-netting.
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Hide AdIn the last five minutes Morris made a fine save to deny Tom Pope, but despite a resounding display in the second half, ended up suffering their second successive league defeat.
Crawley Town: Morris, Young (Nathaniel-George 71), Doherty, Connolly, Grego-Cox (Camara 77), Palmer, Francomb, Vincelot (capt), Bulman (Randall 77), Morias, Milsom
Unused subs: Mersin, Payne, McNerney
Port Vale: Brown, Gibbons, Joyce, Legge, Worrall (Quigley 79), Oyeleke (Kay 38), Pope, Miller, Hannant, Rawlingson, Clark
Unused subs: Hornby, Smith, Kanu, Dodds, Vessell
Attendance: 4,159 (70 away)