Jaheim Headley’s first-half header and an excellent defensive display earns the Valiants a place in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup after a 1-0 victory at Championship side, Birmingham City.
Darren Moore made seven changes to his side following Saturday’s league fixture against Doncaster Rovers, which included a first start of the season for Rhys Walters and a return to the squad for Ruari Paton.
The hosts, who came into the game as heavy favourites, began the game the better of the two sides and they had the game’s first effort as on-loan Lewis Koumas cut inside onto his right foot before dragging an effort wide from the right side of the box.
As the game went on, Vale grew in confidence and started to look the more likely of the sides to grab the opener. On the half-hour mark, A deep free kick from the right was met by Cameron Humphreys, who saw his close-range header deflected over James Beadle’s goal following a good block from a Birmingham defender. From the following corner Mo Faal forced a good save from Beadle, who was on hand to turn his powerful header around the post.
The Valiants were the much better side and had another good opportunity to go ahead seven minutes before the break. Another Vale corner caused chaos in the Blues box, and it fell to Ryan Croasdale, who diverted his header over the bar from close range.
One minute before the break, Vale got the goal that they had been pushing for. Another corner from the right was cleared but recycled by Ryan Croasdale, who sent in a sumptuous cross that was met by the head of Jaheim Headley at the back post, who finished calmly to send the 1,300 travelling Valiants into raptures.
At the break, Vale were good value for their lead. Despite the hosts having most of the ball, Vale’s defensive shape was exemplary and restricted the hosts to crosses and long-range efforts.
At the break, the hosts brought on £10 million striker Jay Stansfield to try and unlock the resolute Vale defence. Stansfield’s inclusion was greeted by a roar from the St Andrews crowd, who were keen to see their star man take the field.
However, the home supporters grew in frustration as the game went on due to more excellent defensive work from Darren Moore’s side
On the hour mark, the hosts flexed their squad depth again and brought on the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Ethan Laird to try and find a way back into the game. However, Vale were continuing to stand firm with Ben Heneghan, Jesse Debrah and Kyle John dealing with everything that was thrown at them.
Despite the hosts pushing for a leveller, Vale still had chances of their own. In the 68th minute, the Valiants caught the hosts on the counter when Rhys Walters drove forward with the ball before finding Ronan Curtis down the right side. The forward cut inside and dragged his effort wide of the near post.
Fifteen minutes from time, the hosts came close to grabbing a leveller when a corner from the left fell to Marc Leonard, who took aim with a low volley. His effort looked destined for the bottom corner, but Ben Heneghan was there once again as he threw himself in front of the ball to divert it behind for a corner.
Seven minutes from time, Vale were millimetres away from sealing the victory when Ben Heneghan’s header whistled over the crossbar following Ronan Curtis’ corner.
The referee indicated four minutes of added time and despite the hosts pushing for a leveller they never really threatened Vale. In fact, they didn’t have a shot on target all game, which is a testament to an excellent defensive away performance from Darren Moore’s men.
Birmingham City: James Beadle, Phil Neumann, Tommy Doyle (Ethan Laird 77’), Marc Leonard, Lyndon Dykes (Kyogo Furuhashi 67’), Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Alfons Hampstead (Alex Cochrane 45’), Kanya Fujimoto (Seung-Ho Paik 45’), Lewis Koumas, Marvin Ducksch (Jay Stansfield 45’), Eiran Cashin.
Subs not used: Ryan Allsop, Christoph Klarer, George Hall
Port Vale: Joe Gauci, Jaheim Headley (Ben Garrity 77’), Ben Heneghan, Jordan Gabriel (Mitch Clark 69’), Ronan Curtis, Rhys Walters, Liam Gordon, Ryan Croasdale, Jesse Debrah, Cameron Humphreys (Kyle John 45’), Mo Faal (Ruari Paton 57’).
Subs not used: Marko Marosi, Rico Richards, Jordan Shipley, Ben Waine, Jack Shorrock.
