A much changed Vale side produced another resolute performance against local rivals Fylde and if a number of penalty kicks had found the target the final winning margin might have been higher.
Fylde mounted a series of early attacks via their dangerous threequarters to rattle at the Vale’s ramparts but against the run of play the Vale took the lead. The versatile Oli Simmons pounced on a dropped pass to score a try in the sixth minute, converted by Jamie Antcliffe.
Seven minutes later Sean Coulshed rounded off a well constructed move for an unconverted try but following skipper Kieran Doyle’s departure to the sin bin in the seventeenth minute the Vale’s game plan began to unravel as Fylde ran in three tries, two of which were converted in the space of four disastrous minutes.
Doyle’s return brought stability back to the Vale and they drew level when Adam Macluskie used his strength to devastating effect with a try in the thirtieth minute converted by Antcliffe.
The momentum of the second half was interrupted when referee Alan Graham suffered an injury. Eventually Tony Holt, who was in charge of the Vikings’ fixture took over with Mike Ashby, who was watching the A team, went off to referee the Vikings.
When play resumed after a long break in the action the Vale regained control and in the seventieth minute Doyle kicked a penalty but a late rally from Fylde caused some anxious moments with the visitors missing an important penalty.
A strong forward from the Vale’s hard working eight provided a solid platform with massive contributions from John Hodkinson and the tireless Dan Rainford enabling the Vale to record their fourth league victory of the season.