Darrell Clarke’s Port Vale had to settle for a point on the road after Jack Marriott netted a late equaliser for Fleetwood Town at Highbury Stadium.

Matty Taylor’s first goal for the Valiants looked like it had given us the victory in Lancashire, but Marriott’s 84th-minute strike meant we had to settle for a point.

Vale found the breakthrough through Taylor in the 57th minute when he calmly slotted the ball past Jay Lynch and into the bottom lefthand corner.

Our number 20 made no mistake when Sammy Robinson’s deflected strike from outside the area fell at his feet inside the six-yard box.

The Cods found their equaliser six minutes from time when Marriott scrambled the ball home from a corner.

Tom Conlon returned to captain Clarke’s side, with Robinson also making it into the starting 11 as the two changes from the side that beat MK Dons last weekend.

Lynch had to be at his best to stop Vale from taking the lead in the 13^th minute, diving low to his left to stop David Worrall’s deflected effort from creeping in at the near post.

After a sustained period of pressure, Taylor nearly gave the Valiants the lead before the half-hour mark, but he dragged his shot inches wide from 10 yards out.

Robinson came as close as you can without scoring a goal just after half-time when his effort squeezed through Lynch’s legs and along the line but somehow didn’t go in.

The hosts should have equalised in the 75^th minute, but substitute Jayden Stockley couldn’t get on the end of Shaun Rooney’s low-driven cross.

Moments before Fleetwood’s leveller, Aidan Stone produced a brilliant save to deny Carlos Mendes Gomes from distance.

Vale nearly responded to Fleetwood’s goal instantly through Taylor, but he couldn’t turn home a cross from the righthand side, so the points were shared.

Fleetwood Town | Lynch, Wiredu, Mendes Gomes, Vela, Marriott, Warrington (46’ Holgate), Nsiala, Patterson (87’ Ndaba), Rooney, Macadam (46’ Stockley), Earl

Unused Subs | Fon-Williams, Batty, Johnson, McMillan

Port Vale | Stone, Donnelly, Smith, Worrall, Conlon, Ojo, Forrester, Taylor, Harrison (72’ Proctor), Pett, Robinson (74’ Benning)

Unused Subs | Stevens, Holden, Agyakwa, Butterworth, Politic