On a windy and wet day at New Abbey both teams ended up with a share of the spoils. Chances in the first half were limited for both sides, Stuart Cameron rattled the Stranraer crossbar with a powerful header and Bryce Fraser scuffed his shot at the back post whilst being closed down by the Stranraer keeper. Stranraer pushed for an opener before the break but were denied by a couple of excellent saves from Jack Johnston to keep the game all square at the break.
Vale started promisingly in the 2nd half and took the lead in the 52nd minute following a defensive mix up as Jack Ogston nipped in to prod the ball past the helpless keeper. During the next quarter of an hour Vale had numerous chances to extend their lead but were denied by a mixture of good goalkeeping and poor finishing. Vale were now in command of the game and looked certain to extend their lead but it was Stranraer who got the next goal. In the 70th minute Vale conceded an unnecesarry corner from which Stranraer equalised with a powerful header passed Johnston. Within 2 minutes Vale found themselves behind following a long ball and knock on the Stranraer striker nipped in and slid the ball passed the advancing Johnston. Things were not looking good for vale at this time, an equaliser came in the 82nd minute. A fine through ball found the hard working Ogston who calmly placed the ball past the onrushing kepper into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Overall Vale were disappointed not to gain the 3 points from a game they dominated for long spells, but due to the numerous players unavailable for a variety of reasons would have been happy with the point before kick off.
CMcK