Once again the seconds where forced to mix and match ahead of their visit to Stockport with a number of players being unavailable for the trip to Bramhall. The selectors were forced to search far and wide prior to finalizing their sixteen man squad, that included five Colts.

Despite all the background player juggling that had taken place prior to kick off, the Vale produced a commendable, battling performance, clawing their way back into contention after trailing 29-12 in the fifty second minute.

A remarkable turn round was engineered by the visitors, who as the game moved into its final minutes were only three points adrift. With Stockport having to scrum deep in their twenty two the Vale's well drilled powerful pack surged for the line but their efforts were thwarted when Stockport managed to scramble the ball away from the danger area and hoof it into touch and secure victory.

The game had hardly got under way before the Vale were forced to move their forward furniture around following an injury to Joe Stevens. Richard Hodgson started in the second row but moved to hooker where he carried out his duties to perfection, taking five against the head and finding Sam Hadlington with pinpoint accuracy at the line outs.

All the early modifications did not appear to trouble the Vale because after seven minutes, Aaron Melville, who had worked hard behind the scenes to assemble the squad, kicked the first of his four penalties. The experienced fly half also converted his side's three tries resulting ain a 100% record with the boot.

Stockport replied with an unconverted try after the Vale had tried to run the ball from deep but possession was lost a situation that allowed Stockport's strong, pacey winger to break clear and run through some unconvincing tackles.

A downside to Vale's wholehearted performance was their inability to retain possession, they were turned over far too easy for comfort which ultimately proved costly in the final analysis.

In the eighteenth minute Aaron Melville nudged his side back into the lead with a penalty but within seven minutes another error surrounding ball retention contributed in no small measure to Stockport plundering a converted try.

Again the trusty footwear of Aaron Melville obliged by kicking a penalty from a difficult angle on the twenty ninth minute to keep the Vale in contention. A second try from Stockport's impressive winger followed in the thirty sixth minute but Aaron Melville provided the final score of the half with a penalty.

Vale were pushed back on the defensive in the opening twelve minutes of the second half as once again their Achilles Heel was exposed and punished by Stockport, who posted two tries, one of which was converted.

Facing a real mountain to climb the Vale made a significant, confidence boosting, pruning of Stockport's lead, with a converted try in the fifty fifth minute. From a solid scrum in Stockport's twenty two, number eight Joe Wallbank, expertly controlled the ball, picked up at the base to score wide out, Aaron Melville converted with a superb kick.

Unfortunately Vale's expectations took another dip four minutes later when a Stockport try, which was allowed to gather momentum from deep, was scored and converted.

Far from feeling sorry for themselves the Vale lifted their game with skipper Jack Ferguson firing up his troops with a combination of word and deeds. On the hour "Captain Jack" took a quick tap penalty for an opportunist's try converted by his trusty lieutenant, Aaron Melville.

In the seventy second minute Jimmy Birchall touched down after a brilliant solo run. Aaron Melville converted to set up a grandstand, rousing finish, forcing Stockport to call on reserves of strength to protect their lead which they did, but in doing so were forced to endure a few uncomfortable minutes.

The contributions from Zac Barrow, Charlie Wilson, Elliott Horner, Joe Baldwin and Jamie Moorhouse reflected the benefits of having a structured and well coached Colts section, they certainly did not look out of place in an intense contest. There was also an important input from Khaizir Aziz in the centre in what had been a fixture packed with interest from the first blast of the whistle at Headlands Road.