After suffering a league defeat at the hands of Lymm in controversial circumstances, the Vale gained revenge in the opening fixture in the Conference B season, to go to the top the table.

Vale began on the front foot with their powerful, well organised forwards, imposing themselves straight from the whistle. In the third minute scrum half Josh Whyke showed a clean pair of heels when he scooted over for a try converted by Gareth Price.

Ten minutes later the Vale’s hard working and single minded forwards set up a second try for the impish whippet, Whyke. With the home side’s forwards building up a sizeable head of steam they shunted their opposite numbers over their goal line, Ben Charnley, as good number eight should bided his time and then dotted the ball down with the minimum of fuss at the mid way point of the half.

Lymm’s backs gave a glimpse of their potential when the Vale let their guard drop and were punished in the twenty eighth minute by conceding a converted try. But the dominant Vale forwards had the last word of the half when they again heaved Lymm backwards for another Charnley try.

Unfortunately for the Vale, following an injury to Lymm’s young prop the scrums were uncontested for the second half, a situation that effectively neutralised the Vale’s forward threat and with it their control of the game.

Lymm started to run the ball from all positions on the field but one move came to grief when Wayne Blyth intercepted a pass to race away for a try converted by Price in the fifty third minute. Both Price and Rhodri Bowen, who launched a number of swift counter attacks from deep, had to be replaced as Lymm began to come more and more into the game.

The visitors added two more tries as the Vale lost concentration and gave Lymm too much time and space in the closing minutes.

For the Vale, Charnley was a deserved recipient of the man of the match award in memory of Peter Atkinson, while hooker James McSporran made a promising debut in a game that the Vale deserved to win despite having their heavy artillery confined to barracks for the second forty.