ON DAY 13,000 CELEBRATED!

LOSS HARDLY MATTERED

- Clive Youlton

PORT Vale's fans came out in force as close to 14,000 packed Vale Park for the club's promotion party on the last day of the League Two season.

It hardly seemed to matter that the Valiants lost the game 1-0 to a Gillingham side who didn’t show up in the first half but improved in the second.

The hopes of a first league title for Vale since 1959 just about disappeared when Doncaster Rovers went 2-0 up at Notts County midway through the first half.

Darren Moore's side needed help from County but in the event, that didn’t happen, nor did they help themselves as they suffered a 10th league defeat when the first objective was to make sure they won.

In front of their biggest crowd since 1989, their statistic of only winning once on the season's final day - against Exeter City in 2022 extended to 13 matches, although one didn’t count during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apart from league games against Stoke City, it’s the first time Vale have had a home crowd of more than 13,000 since 1963 (stat courtesy of Phil Sherwin).

But this was an afternoon that lacked any sort of drama - with that coming at Valley Parade when a goal six minutes into stoppage time saw Bradford City clinch the final automatic promotion place ahead of Walsall as Vale were confirmed in second place.

The club’s pleas for fans not to enter the pitch didn’t work as around 20 made their way past the stewards to a round of boos from fellow supporters after the final whistle. That might prove a costly fine for Vale.

Moore made just one change to the side that beat AFC Wimbledon and that was Ronan Curtis coming in for Jayden Stockley who has been suffering from tonsillitis. Stockley was on the bench, though, having declared himself fit.

It was a fantastic atmosphere inside Vale Park for what was a momentous occasion - with the title a tantalising prospect.