Vale Suffer in Waterloo Sunset.

The low, winter sun peeped nervously through the clouds onto a mercifully dry Powder House Lane pitch. This fixture had ended poorly for the Vale back in September, and the will to redress was evident in the faces of the Vale squad. Head coach Dan Williams had to work around the limitations caused by injuries last week, with Matt Mount, Alex Briggs and Harry Fellows reluctantly sitting it out.

The fellow in yellow, Mr Harrison, got proceedings underway and the early form showed that the Firwood Waterloo pack meant business. Burly prop Kurt Riley burst like a rhino through the Vale's defences to open the scoring. The Vale had their own tactics to counter the green threat, and a composed driving maul took Andy Powers over the line to equalise. The Vale took the lead with a try from returning titan, Sam Wallbank, but the Merseyside men achieved parity once more with another from Riley.

Spotting a gap in the Waterloo defence, Damon Hall launched a cross-field kick for winger Harrison Dodge to chase to the right corner. The touchdown came at the same moment as Dodge's right boot hit the sideline whitewash. The decision was a hard one, but the referee ruled out the try. Half time arrived with an equitable score-line of 12 points to 12.

Poised as the game was, sweeping changes to personnel comes with risks. Nevertheless, the Vale deployed all three replacements at once; James Hesketh, Josh Mitton and Daniel Leighton entered the contest, whereas Waterloo made only one change with centre Ben Robinson coming on.

As they did last week at Douglas, the Vale suffered under an onslaught following the break. The energy was soon pouring in one direction. Waterloo had the upper hand and they made it pay. The Vale struggled to contain the barrage, and three tries came in ten minutes. Two came from the Waterloo full back, Owen Davies, slipping tackles in midfield and burning off the Vale defenders to score.

Finding themselves 19 points adrift, the Vale shuffled the pack once again. The formula needed to plug the holes was found and this soon developed into profit. Two more tries from Sam Wallbank and one from Waterloo kept Big Les busy on the scoreboard, and a converted try from Damon Hall put the Vale in range of a dramatic comeback. It was not to be.

Hat-trick man Sam Wallbank was deemed man-of-the-match for the Vale, and a notable performance came from Isaac Turton, making his first Vale appearance for nine years. Four tries and a close scoreline brings two league points for the Vale in the NW2 league. Every little helps, but a win is overdue. Next week sees the rearranged home fixture against Burnage. If the Vale play as they did in the final quarter of the Waterloo game, Burnage will have their work cut out.

Team: A. Fowler, A. Powers, J. Stevens, I. Turton, G. Oyston, C. Hall, S. Wallbank, J. Aryton (c), J. Batty, J. Silverwood, J. Fern, E. Abdelghafar, C. Ramwell, H. Dodge, D. Hall. Reps: J. Hesketh, J. Mitton, D. Leighton.