Promotion challengers Cheltenham and Port Vale had to settle for a point as well as both retaining their top-three places in League Two.

Cheltenham midfielder Darren Carter gave the Robins the lead after the break when he struck the ball past Vale keeper Chris Neal from 12 yards.

Vale levelled soon after when Louis Dodds fired in from inside the area.

Cheltenham went close to scoring a late winner when Darryl Duffy had a shot cleared off the line.

The draw leaves Vale in second place and Cheltenham third.

VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Cheltenham Town Manager Mark Yates told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

"I thought we were excellent. I'm delighted with the performance and the number of chances we created. We're all a bit shell-shocked we didn't win.

"We're disappointed with the goal. The ball should never go from their corner flag to the back of our net, but they're a good team and their keeper made a couple of great saves.

"We can't just have 11, 12, 13 players, we've got to have a real squad of 18-19 and we've got that and are looking to get better and better.

"Everyone had a really good game and we will focus now on going to Rochdale and getting three points."

Lineup, Bookings (2) & Substitutions (6)

Cheltenham

  • 01 Brown
  • 03 Jones
  • 06 Elliott
  • 15 Bennett
  • 22 Jombati
  • 04 Carter
  • 07 Pack
  • 16 Penn (McGlashan - 75' )
  • 18 Taylor (Goulding - 88' )
  • 14 Harrad (Duffy - 74' )
  • 26 Zebroski

Substitutes

  • 12 Roberts
  • 02 Lowe
  • 08 Deering
  • 11 McGlashan
  • 20 D'Ath
  • 09 Duffy
  • 10 Goulding

Port Vale

  • 01 Neal
  • 05 McCombe
  • 24 Duffy
  • 25 Chilvers
  • 03 Taylor (Shuker - 87' )
  • 07 Loft
  • 18 Morsy Booked
  • 23 Burge Booked
  • 08 Dodds (Andrew - 90' )
  • 10 Vincent (Williamson - 82' )
  • 11 Pope

Substitutes

  • 12 Johnson
  • 02 Yates
  • 14 McDonald
  • 15 Shuker
  • 21 James
  • 16 Andrew
  • 19 Williamson
Ref: Haywood
Att: 3,670

Match Stats

Shots

13 10

On target

6 4

Corners

8 7

Fouls

9 16

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +3:26 Full time

Full Time The referee brings the game to a close.

90:00 +2:30

The ball is delivered by Chris Zebroski, clearance made by Liam Chilvers.

90:00 +0:44

The ball is crossed by Billy Jones.

90:00 +0:44 Substitution

Substitution Louis Dodds leaves the field to be replaced by Calvin Andrew.

90:00 +0:44

Ryan Burge concedes a free kick for a foul on Chris Zebroski.

88:25

Jeff Goulding has an effort at goal from outside the penalty box missing to the wide right of the target.

87:53 Substitution

Substitution Jeff Goulding replaces Jake Taylor.

86:39

Sam Morsy takes the direct free kick.

86:39 Substitution

Substitution Chris Shuker comes on in place of Robert Taylor.

86:39

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Robert Taylor by Jermaine McGlashan.

85:56

Ryan Burge takes a shot. Save by Scott Brown.

86:08

Outswinging corner taken by Ryan Burge from the left by-line, Sido Jombati makes a clearance.

85:56

Ryan Burge takes a shot. Chris Neal makes a save.

83:04

Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Billy Jones from the right by-line, Tom Pope manages to make a clearance.

82:39

Ben Williamson challenges Steve Elliott unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Scott Brown.

81:47

Shot from long distance by Marlon Pack goes over the bar.

81:03 Substitution

Substitution Ben Williamson on for Ashley Vincent.

79:23

Free kick awarded for a foul by Jake Taylor on Ryan Burge. Chris Neal takes the direct free kick.

78:07

Shot from outside the box by Ashley Vincent goes wide right of the target.

77:22

Ryan Burge fouled by Alan Bennett, the ref awards a free kick. Ryan Burge restarts play with the free kick.

73:59 Substitution

Substitution Jermaine McGlashan joins the action as a substitute, replacing Russell Penn.

73:59 Substitution

Substitution Shaun Harrad leaves the field to be replaced by Darryl Duffy.

73:20

Doug Loft produces a cross, Steve Elliott makes a clearance.

70:24

Direct free kick taken by Scott Brown.

70:24 Booking

Booking Ryan Burge shown a yellow card.

70:08

Ryan Burge concedes a free kick for a foul on Chris Zebroski.

69:13

Chris Zebroski produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the left of the goal.

68:48

A cross is delivered by Ashley Vincent, Scott Brown makes a save.

67:46

Corner taken by Billy Jones, clearance by Tom Pope.

66:44 Goal scored

Goal - Louis Dodds - Cheltenham 1 - 1 Port Vale A goal is scored by Louis Dodds from inside the box low into the middle of the goal. Cheltenham 1-1 Port Vale.

65:58

Unfair challenge on Ashley Vincent by Chris Zebroski results in a free kick. Richard Duffy takes the free kick.

65:12

Doug Loft sends in a cross, clearance made by Steve Elliott.

64:05

Shot from just outside the box by Robert Taylor misses to the right of the target.

63:30

Foul by Steve Elliott on Tom Pope, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Ryan Burge.

62:57

Corner taken by Ryan Burge played to the near post, clearance by Alan Bennett.

62:46

Sam Morsy takes a shot. Save by Scott Brown.

62:17

Alan Bennett challenges Tom Pope unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Ryan Burge.

60:59 Goal scored

Goal - Darren Carter - Cheltenham 1 - 0 Port Vale Darren Carter gets on the score sheet with a goal from deep inside the penalty box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Cheltenham 1-0 Port Vale.

60:01

The ball is swung over by Robert Taylor, clearance made by Steve Elliott.

57:30

Russell Penn crosses the ball, Jake Taylor takes a shot. Save made by Chris Neal. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Billy Jones.

56:05

Darren Carter concedes a free kick for a foul on Ryan Burge. Chris Neal restarts play with the free kick.

55:08

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Russell Penn by Sam Morsy. Marlon Pack takes the free kick.

52:56

Foul by Robert Taylor on Chris Zebroski, free kick awarded. Billy Jones crosses the ball in from the free kick, Tom Pope manages to make a clearance.

52:18

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Jake Taylor by Richard Duffy. Marlon Pack takes the direct free kick.

51:35

Effort from inside the area by Russell Penn misses to the left of the target.

50:28

Steve Elliott takes a shot. Chris Neal makes a save.

49:32

Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Billy Jones.

46:59

Effort on goal by Billy Jones from just inside the penalty box goes harmlessly over the target.

45:27

Free kick awarded for a foul by Ryan Burge on Darren Carter. Steve Elliott restarts play with the free kick.

45:01

The game restarts for the second half.

45:00 +2:12 Half time

Half Time The half-time whistle blows.

44:55

Sam Morsy has an effort at goal from 35 yards and went wide left of the net.

43:23

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Scott Brown by John McCombe. Scott Brown takes the free kick.

42:30

Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Ryan Burge, Tom Pope takes a shot.

42:19

Ashley Vincent crosses the ball, Steve Elliott manages to make a clearance.

39:41

Outswinging corner taken left-footed by Billy Jones from the left by-line, clearance by Tom Pope.

38:43

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Darren Carter by Sam Morsy. Billy Jones takes the direct free kick.

33:59

The ball is delivered by Marlon Pack, clearance made by Liam Chilvers.

33:08

Outswinging corner taken by Billy Jones from the left by-line played to the near post, Ryan Burge manages to make a clearance.

32:15

The ball is delivered by Billy Jones, clearance by Liam Chilvers.

31:17

The ball is crossed by Chris Zebroski, Darren Carter takes a shot. Save made by Chris Neal.

28:41

Darren Carter takes a shot. Chris Neal makes a save.

26:57

Foul by Russell Penn on Doug Loft, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Doug Loft.

25:56

Foul by Tom Pope on Steve Elliott, free kick awarded. Scott Brown restarts play with the free kick.

25:19

Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Ryan Burge, clearance made by Steve Elliott.

24:17

Sido Jombati crosses the ball, Chris Neal makes a save.

23:21

Louis Dodds challenges Alan Bennett unfairly and gives away a free kick. Scott Brown takes the direct free kick.

22:17

Billy Jones takes the direct free kick.

22:17 Booking

Booking Sam Morsy goes into the book.

22:13

Foul by Sam Morsy on Russell Penn, free kick awarded.

21:44

Inswinging corner taken by Ryan Burge from the right by-line, Alan Bennett makes a clearance.

21:24

Ashley Vincent takes a shot. Scott Brown makes a save.

21:05

Russell Penn sends in a cross, Chris Zebroski takes a shot. Save by Chris Neal.

19:23

The referee blows for offside against Ashley Vincent. Scott Brown restarts play with the free kick.

18:23

Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Ashley Vincent, clearance by Steve Elliott.

17:42

Corner from right by-line taken by Ryan Burge.

14:56

Tom Pope produces a right-footed shot from outside the penalty box and misses right.

14:12

John McCombe challenges Chris Zebroski unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Darren Carter.

12:35

Alan Bennett is caught offside. Chris Neal takes the free kick.

11:44

Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Billy Jones, Tom Pope makes a clearance.

10:53

The ball is sent over by Ashley Vincent, Alan Bennett makes a clearance.

9:15

Sam Morsy challenges Russell Penn unfairly and gives away a free kick. Darren Carter restarts play with the free kick.

8:03

Marlon Pack fouled by John McCombe, the ref awards a free kick. Billy Jones takes the free kick.

7:03

Ryan Burge handles the ball and concedes a free kick. Marlon Pack takes the free kick.

5:57

Jake Taylor has an effort at goal from outside the box which goes wide right of the goal.

4:27

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Russell Penn by Ryan Burge. Billy Jones takes the direct free kick.

3:49

The ball is crossed by Richard Duffy, Header by Tom Pope from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the goal.

3:26

Russell Penn gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Ryan Burge. Doug Loft takes the direct free kick.

2:42

Effort on goal by Marlon Pack from long range goes over the crossbar.

2:15

Corner taken by Billy Jones from the left by-line played to the near post.

2:06

The ball is sent over by Sido Jombati, Richard Duffy manages to make a clearance.

0:53

The ball is swung over by Billy Jones, clearance made by Liam Chilvers.

0:00

The match gets underway.

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