Port Vale kept their play-off hopes alive with a late goal against relegation battlers Plymouth.

Vale's best first-half chance fell to Ben Williamson but his close-range shot was saved by Jake Cole.

Marc Richards headed straight at Cole from Rob Taylor's perfect cross while Sean Rigg's deflected effort flashed just wide.

But Vale's pressure told when Tom Pope came off the bench to fire in from 16 yards to break Argyle's resistance.

VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Port Vale manager Micky Adams told BBC Radio Stoke:

"It's obviously pleasing to win a game in the dying stages, a game that we dominated in terms of possession and chances, so we're pleased to come away with the three points.

"Tom (Pope) has been struggling with a groin problem and hasn't trained.

"I felt that, looking around at the options I had on the bench, if we could get 15 or 20 minutes out of him, that would be great.

"He's come up with the goal and I'm pleased for him."

Plymouth Argyle manager Carl Fletcher told BBC Radio Devon:

"We didn't play that great, but we dug in and worked hard and defensively we looked fairly comfortable.

"If you don't play well, you try to be hard to beat. You have to defend when the balls come in the box and do the right things. On a tough pitch we did that and stuck to our task.

"Sometimes you are going to have loads of possession and sometimes you're not. I think today we didn't and we dug in and did our defensive duties but there are always areas you can improve on."

Lineup, Bookings (1) & Substitutions (5)

Port Vale

  • 12 Tomlinson
  • 02 Yates
  • 05 McCombe
  • 25 McDonald
  • 03 Taylor (Pope - 76' )
  • 04 Griffith
  • 07 Loft
  • 17 Rigg
  • 18 Morsy
  • 09 Richards Booked
  • 19 Williamson (Dodds - 69' )

Substitutes

  • 01 Martin
  • 26 Davis
  • 21 James
  • 08 Dodds
  • 11 Pope

Plymouth Argyle

  • 23 Cole
  • 05 Purse
  • 14 Bhasera
  • 22 Blanchard
  • 28 Bignot
  • 08 Walton
  • 15 Young (Lennox - 89' )
  • 19 Wotton
  • 27 Lecointe (Sutherland - 69' )
  • 29 Chadwick (Soukouna - 59' )
  • 31 Hemmings

Substitutes

  • 01 Larrieu
  • 02 Berry
  • 13 Soukouna
  • 21 Lennox
  • 10 Sutherland
Ref: Williamson
Att: 4,375

Match Stats

Shots

6 2

On target

5 1

Corners

13 2

Fouls

11 5

Live Text Commentary

93:35

The final whistle goes and the game is over.

90:00 +0:02

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Anthony Griffith by Simon Walton. John McCombe takes the direct free kick.

88:48 Substitution

Substitution (Plymouth) makes a substitution, with Joe Lennox coming on for Luke Young.

87:18

Corner taken by Sam Morsy.

85:43

Marc Richards provided the assist for the goal.

85:43 Goal scored

Goal - Tom Pope - Port Vale 1 - 0 Plymouth Tom Pope gets on the score sheet with a goal from inside the area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Port Vale 1-0 Plymouth.

84:12

Foul by Doug Loft on Paul Bignot, free kick awarded. Onismor Bhasera takes the free kick.

82:12

Unfair challenge on Maxime Blanchard by Marc Richards results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Jake Cole.

82:12 Booking

Booking Marc Richards is shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.

80:51

Inswinging corner taken by Sam Morsy, Jake Cole makes a save.

76:26

Corner taken by Sam Morsy from the left by-line.

75:10 Substitution

Substitution Robert Taylor goes off and Tom Pope comes on.

73:55

Corner taken left-footed by Doug Loft from the right by-line to the near post, save by Jake Cole.

69:27

Sean Rigg takes a shot. Save by Jake Cole.

68:29 Substitution

Substitution Louis Dodds on for Ben Williamson.

68:09 Substitution

Substitution Craig Sutherland comes on in place of Matt Lecointe.

67:22

Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Doug Loft, save by Jake Cole.

66:56

Inswinging corner taken by Sam Morsy from the left by-line, save made by Jake Cole.

66:17

Doug Loft takes a outswinging corner from the right by-line played to the near post, Darren Purse makes a clearance.

61:11

Paul Wotton concedes a free kick for a foul on Anthony Griffith. Free kick taken by John McCombe.

60:07

Corner taken by Ashley Hemmings from the left by-line, Sean Rigg manages to make a clearance.

60:00

The ball is swung over by Ashley Hemmings, Marc Richards manages to make a clearance.

58:06 Substitution

Substitution Ladjie Soukouna replaces Nick Chadwick.

56:24

Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Ashley Hemmings played to the near post, clearance made by John McCombe.

55:46

Anthony Griffith gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Matt Lecointe. Onismor Bhasera crosses the ball from the free kick left-footed from right wing, Clayton McDonald makes a clearance.

54:47

Inswinging corner taken by Doug Loft from the right by-line, Jake Cole makes a save.

54:36

Sean Rigg takes a shot. Darren Purse gets a block in.

53:03

Marc Richards takes a shot. Save made by Jake Cole.

50:00

Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Doug Loft from the right by-line.

49:29

Inswinging corner taken by Doug Loft from the right by-line played to the near post, clearance by Simon Walton.

48:46

Onismor Bhasera fouled by Sam Morsy, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Jake Cole.

47:13

Robert Taylor challenges Nick Chadwick unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Darren Purse.

45:41

Paul Wotton concedes a free kick for a foul on John McCombe. Direct free kick taken by Stuart Tomlinson.

45:01

The match restarts for the second half.

45:00 +2:40

The first half comes to an end.

41:50

Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Sam Morsy, Jake Cole makes a save.

40:19

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Paul Bignot by Robert Taylor. Jake Cole restarts play with the free kick.

39:34

Sean Rigg challenges Ashley Hemmings unfairly and gives away a free kick. Ashley Hemmings delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from left channel, clearance by Clayton McDonald.

30:37

Matt Lecointe is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Indirect free kick taken by Doug Loft.

28:02

Matt Lecointe is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Free kick taken by Stuart Tomlinson.

26:01

Sam Morsy takes a outswinging corner.

25:19

Outswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Sam Morsy, clearance by Ashley Hemmings.

22:52

Foul by Ashley Hemmings on Adam Yates, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Stuart Tomlinson.

22:03

Free kick awarded for a foul by Clayton McDonald on Matt Lecointe. Darren Purse takes the free kick.

19:28

Marc Richards takes a shot. Darren Purse manages to make a clearance.

17:35

Adam Yates gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Paul Wotton. Direct strike on goal from the free kick comes in from Paul Wotton, save by Stuart Tomlinson.

16:10

Shot from just outside the area by Paul Bignot goes over the bar.

13:18

Matt Lecointe is adjudged to have handled the ball. Stuart Tomlinson takes the direct free kick.

10:58

Nick Chadwick is ruled offside. Stuart Tomlinson takes the free kick.

9:32

Foul by Sean Rigg on Paul Bignot, free kick awarded. Darren Purse takes the free kick.

8:41

Ben Williamson is caught offside. Jake Cole takes the free kick.

6:14

Sean Rigg sends in a cross, Ben Williamson produces a header from inside the area that goes over the crossbar.

2:57

Matt Lecointe fouled by Anthony Griffith, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Paul Wotton.

2:24

Unfair challenge on John McCombe by Matt Lecointe results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Stuart Tomlinson.

0:00

The game begins.

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