Goalles At Vale Park

No way through resolute defence.

Port Vale 0

 

Wolves 0

 

Wolves returned from their Irish training camp to play out a goalless friendly against a resolute Port Vale side at a sunny Vale Park.

 

In only the second minute a scuffed cleared fell to George Saville who fired narrowly wide from 12-yards. For Vale, Paulo Tavares tried his luck from distance with a shot that skimmed across the surface straight into the arms of Carl Ikeme.

 

The home side looked dangerous when they went forward but there was little to trouble Ikeme. At the other end a low cross from James Henry was cut out just before Joe Mason could get a shot away and Jed Wallace turned and lifted the ball over the far angle after a Saville through ball.

 

Dominic Iorfa’s nudge on Tavares presented Vale with a free-kick on the left-hand corner of the Wolves box. Tavares hammered the kick against the wall and the ball went out for the first of successive corners, again taken by the Portuguese midfielder with ikeme plucking the second out of the air.

 

The referee’s whistle at the break brought to an end a virtually chanceless half of football.

 

Half-Time: Port Vale 0 Wolves 0

 

Bright Enobakhare was an interval replacement for Lee Evans and the young striker almost made an instant impression just failing to h=get on the end of Henry’s low cross.

 

In the 49th minute Sam Foley hit a fierce angled drive that was no more than a couple of feet wide of the far post.

 

Vale keeper Jak Alnwick made two superb saves in as many minutes to keep things on an even keel. In the 58th minute Wallace ran for over half the length of the pitch before unleashing a powerful effort that Alnwick managed to paw away.

 

Then Kortney Hause’s glancing header from Henry’s cross looked destined for the back of the net until Alnwick, with a fine reflex reaction, turned the ball behind.

 

It was then the turn of Ikeme to be at his best as he tipped a dipping shot from Foley over the bar.

 

The Wolves keeper got behind JJ Hooper’s low drive in the dying minutes and, with the last kick of the game, Henry saw Vale substitute keeper Ryan Boot dive to save to deny the visitors at the death.

 

Vale: Alnwick (Boot 71), Purkiss, Knops, Grant (Forrester 80), Streete (MacIntosh 60), Smith, Thomas (Kelly 65), Tavares (Amoros 65), Cicilia (Hooper 45), Foley (Pereira 65), Mbamba (Tyson 45).

 

Unused sub: Birchall.

 

Wolves: Ikeme, Doherty, Coady, Price, Iorfa, Hause, Wallace, Evans (Enobakhare 45), Mason, Henry, Saville.

 

Unused subs: O’Hanlon, Lonergan, Hayden, Ronan, Leak, Byrne, Johnson, Ennis, Odofin, Wilson.

 

Referee: S. Rushton.

 

Attendance: 1,981 (611 away supporters).