Central League - Oldham Athletic 1 Port Vale 4
Central League – Western Division
Oldham Athletic 1 Port Vale 4
Chris Shuker, Chris Lines, Chris Birchall and Gavin Tomlin all impressed in a game played at Oldham’s Chapel Road training ground.
Vale took the lead on the stroke of half time. Jordan Hugill sent Birchall away down the left and his low cross into the box was turned into the net by Gavin Tomlin.
minute. Chris Shuker fed the ball to Hugill and he did well to shrug off a defender before slotting the ball home from 8 yards.thVale began the second half in a positive mood and Tomlin was twice denied by the ‘keeper Paul Rachubka before they made it 2-0 in the 49
minute when Kirk Millar had a shot saved by Sam Johnson. 60 seconds later though Vale broke quickly to make it 3-0. Shuker played the ball out to Rob Taylor on the left and he cut inside before hitting a low shot just inside Rachubka’s left-hand post.thBirchall fired over before Oldham had their first chance in the 56
minute. Jonson Clarke-Harris, who played against the Vale’s first team last month, did well down the left before laying the ball off to Jordan Bove who drilled a low shot into the corner of the net.thOldham pulled a goal back in the 75
Vale made it 4-1 with eleven minutes remaining when Hugill sprayed the ball out to the left and substitute Dominic Dell, who had only been on the field for 8 minutes, beat three men and hit a low shot into the far corner of the net.
Oldham Athletic – Rachubka, T.Johnson, Pritchard, Clarke, Joksts, Winchester, Walters, Rodgers (Byrnes 71), MacDonald (Fulwood 56), Millar (Bove 59), Clarke-Harris
Sub not used - Simpson
Port Vale – S.Johnson, Yates, Jefford, Price, Davis, Shuker, Lines, Birchall, Taylor (Dell 71), Tomlin, Hugill
Subs not used - Boot, Alexander, Tambini, Carvalho
Match Report Phil Sherwin