Darrell Clarke’s Valiants produced a brilliant second half turnaround to defeat 10-man Derby County in a tasty encounter at Pride Park.
Both Ellis Harrison and James Wilson netted after the break to secure the three points in Derbyshire after James Collins had opened the scoring for the hosts.
Derby’s in-form striker gave County the lead after 5 minutes when a blistering counterattack led to Tom Barkhuizen crossing for the number nine to half-volley into the back of the net.
After waiting so long for one penalty, the Valiants were awarded two at Pride Park, and top scorer Harrison made no mistake with the second one, smashing it in to bring the Vale level after 55 minutes.
Tensions started to flare after the equaliser, and the match reached a boiling point when Derby’s early hero Collins was sent his marching orders after a reaction to a Nathan Smith challenge.
Not long after the red card, Vale got their second with just 25 minutes left to play, with Wilson finishing a sweeping counterattack to score his first goal of the season to send the packed-out vale away end into raptures.
The opening minutes of the match were played at high intensity, and moments after County’s opener they nearly grabbed a second, but Jack Stevens produced a good stop to foil Nathaniel Mendez-Laing after he gave himself space in the area.
Vale then got their first chance in the 10th minute through Dan Jones after Brad Walker’s free-kick was delicately chipped into the defender whose header was glanced just wide.
73 games after the Valiants were last awarded a penalty, they finally got one after Dan Jones was brought down in the area, but unfortunately for the visitors, Tom Conlon dragged his spot kick wide.
The pressure continued to grow on the Rams’ net throughout the half, and in the 25th minute after good work on the righthand side, a brilliant Gavin Massey cross found the head of Ellis Harrison whose effort fell to Ben Garrity who headed wide.
Derby fought back though, and their star man Conor Hourihane came close just after the half-hour mark when he latched onto a cross from the right, however, he couldn’t keep his effort on target.
Just three minutes later the hosts then came close again, this time through Lewis Dobbin whose effort from inside the box hit the side netting, which tricked the stadium into thinking the rams had a second.
As half-time approached, it took a goal-line clearance to keep the score a 1-0, with Nathan Smith hooking the ball off the line after it seemed the hosts would grab their second.
And only moments later, the Valiants' defence produced another goal-line clearance, this time Will Forrester managed to clear the ball after a goalmouth scramble.
After the two goal-line clearances, Vale pushed for a goal just before the break, and after a well-worked free-kick the ball fell to Liam McCarron on the edge of the area, but he couldn’t quite keep his effort down.
The second half started in a similarly fast-paced fashion with the hosts having a chance after just one minute of play through Hourihane, but he couldn’t trouble Stevens with his free header.
Chances kept coming early in the second period for the Rams, but they couldn’t quite grab their second with their goal scorer, Collins, not being able to test the keeper with a header.
Harrison, who played an integral part all game for the Valiants, continued to seek goals after the turnaround and saw an acrobatic effort fly over the bar not long after we had taken the lead.
Our number nine also came close to a brace for himself after a corner fell to the head of the striker, but his header could only find the gloves of Joe Wildsmith.
As the clock was ticking, Vale searched for a third to kill the game with Garrity the next to have an effort for the visitors, however, his long-range volley dipped just over the bar.
In stoppage time substitute Mipo Odubeko had a great chance to finish the game for the Vale, but unfortunately, he couldn’t divert Massey’s shot into the back of the net.
It didn't matter though as the Vale held on through six minutes of stoppage time to complete a memorable victory in Derbyshire, their first away to the Rams since 1923.
Derby County | Wildsmith, Hourihane, Chester, Cashin, Barkhuizen, Bird (82’ Sibley), Collins, Mendez-Laing, Dobbin (60’ Osula), Stearman (75’ Roberts), Knight
Unused Subs | Loach, Forsyth, Thompson, Rooney
Port Vale | Stevens, Jones, Walker (46’ Politic), Smith, Garrity, Wilson (87’ Odubeko), Conlon, Forrester, Massey, Harrison, McCarron (58’ Hall)
Unused Subs | Stone, Worrall, Pett, Butterworth
Attendance | 28,706 (2,693 Valiants)