Recent Vale visits to Headlands Road, Bramhall have resulted in closely fought encounters and this first meeting of the season followed a familiar pattern with a battling Vale side coming within three points of the hosts lead but a late Stockport penalty goal settled the eventual outcome.
After being pressed in their own half for the first five minutes the Vale pounced on a dropped pass to career downfield for an opportunist try scored by Kieran Doyle which the stand off converted.
Stockport drew level with a converted try after a period of sustained pressure and as the game approached the half hour Rob Ward was forced to leave the action with a pulled hamstring. His replacement Elliot Fowler played with vigour and determination throughout.
The home side went into the lead with a penalty in the twenty ninth minute and in injury time their pack fashioned an unconverted try.
Vale made changes to their forward formation for the second half with long serving warrior Lee Farnworth bringing extra impetus to the pack as a the Vale made an impressive start with Olly Simmons rounding off an efficient handling movement with an unconverted try in the forty ninth minute.
Two minutes later the Vale edged into a deserved lead when Andy Muir sprinted away for an unconverted try. Unfortunately the Vale struggled to consolidate the situation and Stockport’s flying winger bounded over for an unconverted try.
A solo try from Stockport’s stand off, which he converted, appeared to put the game out of Vale’s reach with six minutes of proper time left on the clock. But the Vale raised their game and following a confident break by Jamie Antcliffe, Fowler scored a try converted by Doyle in the third minute of extra time but a minute later a Stockport penalty dashed Vale’s hopes of springing a surprise.
Phil Berry and Adam Foxcroft made their presence felt throughout in an encouraging Vale performance ahead of their upcoming fixture against free running Fylde at home on Saturday.
Vale A: R Ward (E Fowler 27); J Birchall, O Simmons, J Antcliffe, A Muir; K Doyle, L Power; J Hodkinson (P Jackson 40), P Berry, A Morrison; A Foxcroft (Capt), S Patterson (L Farnworth 40); P Watson, T Cvijanovic, H Marsden.