Port Vale were unable to make it three wins in succession when they travelled to Swindon Town on Saturday afternoon, but the hard-earned goalless draw did extend their unbeaten run to four games in Sky Bet League Two.
In what were very difficult conditions at the County Ground, Vale were forced to play against the strong winds in the first half, but they started well in possession. It was the hosts who created the first chance on seven minutes, however, only for Theo Robinson to send his half-volley wide of the target from 20 yards.
Swindon did begin to see more of the ball as they looked to probe for an opener, but they lacked any cutting edge and that frustrated the home supporters. Keshi Anderson did manage to get a powerful shot away from inside the area after 26 minutes, but Leon Legge did well to get his body in the way.
Both teams continued to struggle with the elements for the remainder of the opening period, but the Valiants would’ve been happy to head down the tunnel on level terms. Kyle Bennett did have the final sighting of goal, but his effort curled wide to a chorus of ironic cheers from the home fans.
The home side looked the brighter of the sides following the restart as Anderson drilled a low ball across the face on 51 minutes, only to watch the wind carry it away from a red shirt and out for a throw-in on the far side. Luke Joyce tried his luck from distance up the other end five minutes later, but Lawrence Vigouroux was equal to it.
Kaiyne Woolery was presented with a good chance for Swindon with 58 minutes played as he shrugged off Nathan Smith before racing onto a long ball, but despite being one-on-one, he dragged his strike wide of the mark with Scott Brown at full stretch.
As the afternoon wore on, Richie Wellens’ men kept throwing bodies forward in search of the opener, but they came up against a resolute Vale defence. Several crosses and set pieces were delivered into dangerous areas, but they dug in deep to preserve their clean sheet.
Vale almost pulled themselves into the lead on 76 minutes as Tom Conlon drilled a great ball in from a corner, but it was nicked away by a defender as Legge lurked at the far post. David Worrall swung the resulting corner in from the opposite side and the Valiants’ defender was able to meet it this time, but the ‘keeper got down well to parry his header.
Line-Ups
Port Vale: Scott Brown, Adam Crookes, Nathan Smith, Leon Legge ©, Mitch Clark, Luke Joyce, Manny Oyeleke, Tom Conlon, Luke Hannant, David Worrall, Ricky Miller (Cristian Montano 87’).
Unused Substitutes: Sam Hornby, James Gibbons, Kyle Howkins, Antony Kay, Ben Whitfield, Mark Harris.
Swindon Town: Lawrence Vigouroux, Kyle Knoyle, Keshi Anderson, Canice Carroll, Kaiyne Woolery, Dion Conroy ©, Ali Koiki, Danny Rose (Jak McCourt 90'), Luke Woolfenden, Theo Robinson, Kyle Bennett (Marc Richards 88’).
Unused Substitutes: Luke McCormick, James Dunne, Toumani Diagouraga, Tom Broadbent, Jacob Bancroft.
Attendance: 6,322 (224 away).