Round 3 in the Midlands

This weekend was the big night in the FA Cup, the third round. This is the round where the big boys join the competition and those teams who have come through at least 2 rounds already have the chance to gain the scalp of a team that no-one would ever expect them to beat. The game I attended was one such opportunity.

The team with the opportunity for the scalp were Port Vale of League Two, who play their home games in the village of Burslem on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent, and the team they were attempting to defeat were Brentford of the Premier League. The two team’s last meeting was in 2014 at Griffin Park, when the hosts won 2-0 as they sealed their promotion into the 2nd tier of English Football. Port Vale finished that season in a creditable 9th place to secure their second season in the league. They finished that season a mere 7 places apart in the league system but now, 8 years later, that gap has increased massively to 62 places at kick-off.

The gap between the teams was even more pronounced when considering the area they play in. Brentford have a modern, state of the art stadium in central London, whilst Port Vale play in a tiny stadium in a run-down village on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent. I had to head down to the village the evening before the match and if I thought Crewe was in a poor state before, it looks like Buckingham Palace levels of rich compared to Burslem.
The 25 minute walk to my hotel from the tiny station of Longport, least used station in Staffordshire, was up and over sludge covered roads as the snow of previous days melted away and it was the most miserable walk I have ever done. I knew very little about Port Vale before going to this match and now I know more about the area they are situated in than anyone could ever reasonably wish to know.

On the day of the match I completed the morning tasks that had forced me to travel down the day before, after all it’s difficult to be on a zoom call on a 2 and a half hour train journey which you also have to change trains during, and headed down to the stadium.

My hotel was a short 10 minute walk from the stadium and with so little else to do in the village, I arrived at the stadium with a long time to go before kick-off. I filled this time, first by heading into the club shop to buy a keyring for the team to add to my collection and when I saw they had programmes for sale in there too I bought one of those as well. Then I decided to take a lap of the stadium to see if any of it was nice to look at from the outside or if there were any interesting things to see around it. What I found was a statue to the Sproson family, whose contribution to Port Vale is legendary in that area. The named members of the family were Phil, Roy and Jess; they were two brothers and Jess’s son Phil who all spent the majority of their careers at Vale. Phil even went on to manage the team at the end of his playing days.

This statue was the only notable thing I saw on my lap and as it was outside the away players entrance I decided to see if I could catch the arrival of the last of the Bees’ coaches. EPL regulations currently require 3 coaches for the journey to away matches and whilst I had missed the arrival of the first 2 I caught the 3rd coach, which had been delayed by a police escort. That escort took the coach via a diversion and then sped off leaving the coach to fight through the traffic and arrive at the ground 15 minutes later than the others.

The players and Bees’ manager Thomas Frank had no problem getting into the stadium once they arrived though, but I was not so lucky. A problem with the ticket scanners at the turnstiles meant that it took me ages to get inside, so it was lucky I had the time. When I finally did get inside I headed to the food kiosk to the far right end of the stand and grabbed a pie and a drink before making my way into the stands to find an empty seat. The tickets had no reserved seats on them for away fans so it was simply first come, first served.

I settled into a seat directly behind the goal, but just far enough back that I was behind the only screen in the stadium and thus couldn’t see anything on it at all. There were seats further out, but they were behind pillars which blocked the view of the pitch so this was the best position available. It did make taking down the starting 11’s for each team difficult though and even more so as the tannoy was having serious sound issues, it would start off loud and then tail away to nothing just as the important information was being read out.
I was just about able to note down the two teams from seeing them in their huddles before kick off though. Through this method I realised that Brentford had given a first start to their January signing Lossl in goal, who had previously played for Huddersfield but joins the Bees from time playing in Germany. He may have been in the starting 11, but he was not on the programme so I wrote him in. I didn’t write in the Vale substitutes though as I thought only to worry about them if they came on, they did not.

The other major changes in the Bees’ squad were the return of record summer signing Ajer to the back line after a long injury layoff, with captain Pontus Jansson dropping to the bench. Toney was also on the bench to start this match as Mbuemo was also named on the bench on his return from injury. All these changes meant that it would be the untested partnership of Wissa and Forss leading the line for the Londoners.
The Port Vale starting 11 were all well rested as, due to postponements, they had not played a match since losing to fellow league 2 high fliers Newport on December 11th. They had not played a match at home since beating Hartlepool 2-0 on the 27th November so I was expecting a huge crowd for this one, but half of the seats in the stand away to my right were empty. It seems not even the chance of seeing their team beat an EPL team was worth the risk of the variants to many home fans.

The lack of a visible clock may not have been a reason for home fans to stay away but it did make the timings of any match events easy to work out, so all minutes will be extremely approximate throughout the match report. Before that though I just want to give a shout out to the person controlling the pre-match music as they played both Park Life and Hey Jude multiple times before kick-off. Park Life is just a great tune, but Hey Jude is the basis for a normal Bees’ pre-match chant and whilst that chant doesn’t use the whole song it was still lovely to have this familiarity to enjoy at an away game. It certainly helped me settle into the match.

Port Vale seemed settled in from the kick-off as they secured a freekick inside the Bees’ half in the first minute having gone straight on the attack. The freekick flew harmlessly over the bar, but going on the attack so early was certainly a signal of intent from the home team as they were not about to be overawed by their visitors. They had been opponents in League 1 just 9 seasons ago after all.

Vale went on the attack again in the 6th minute as they found space to get in on the right. The ball across field landed at the striker’s feet, who then lets it run across him and chases it to the by-line. He gets there in time to slot in back across the box, but this time Pinnock is there to clear it for the visitors. Bees then break up field and the ball is worked to Forss on the left, but he over-runs it before any chance can be created.

It took until the 10th minute for Brentford to create a chance of their own. They got in down the left but the cross lacked a little precision and meant that Dominic Thompson had to try for the spectacular at the far post to have any hope of getting it on target. Unfortunately for the visitors he is a full-back and his attempt at the spectacular failed impressively.

This chance and the gap between the teams in the league seemed to give the Bees confidence as they decided to play tika-taka in defence and it almost cost them in the 11th minute. The Port Vale players put the pressure on the Bees and this almost deflected the ball into the goal when Lossl finally decided to clear the ball upfield. Luckily for the visitors though the deflection was off the side of a Vale player and deflecting to a Bees’ midfielder.

The visitors then managed to hold onto possession without creating anything for the next few minutes. Vale broke out and upfield in the 15h minute. They launched the ball up the left and the race was on between the hosts David Amoo and Mads Bech for the visitors. Mads Bech won and cleared the ball away from danger for the Bees. It was another great attack for the visitors though and another reminder for their illustrious visitors that they would not simply be rolling over and letting them win.

The visitors responded to this by managing their first shot on target in the 20th minute. A cross from deep on the Bees right pinged around the area and from player to player on both teams, before it made its way to Wissa. His shot was on target from within the 6 yard box, but with the ball bouncing around so much to make it to him there was hardly any power on the shot and it simply dribbled to Stone in the Vale goal.

Vale were on the attack again in the 22nd minute when Mads Bech gave them a freekick 20 yards out on the right-side of the pitch. This was whipped in to the far post but unfortunately for the hosts Pinnock was there to head it away from just in front of their waiting striker.

This was the last chance Port Vale had with the scores as their Premier League visitors took the lead in the 26th minute. Their opener came through an attack down the centre of the pitch. Mads Bidstrup had a chance to shoot on goal, but as he is a midfielder he instead decided to lay the ball off to the onrushing Forss on his right. Forss stroked the ball across the keeper and in to the net. Cure wild celebrations all around me in the away end. Without the announcements I was too busy trying to work out who had scored and note it down to truly enjoy the joy of the moment. I thought this goal would open the floodgates for the visitors to walk to the win, but Vale were not going down without a fight.

In the 30th minute the Bees were almost gifted a 2nd goal when a cross from their right was knocked away from his own keeper by one of the home defenders under no pressure from anyone. This mistake almost let the ball make its way to the onrushing Bees strikers, but the defender was able to clear it just in time to keep the score at 1-0. They almost made it 2-0 themselves in the 34th minute as Janelt fired over from just inside the box.

The visitors were almost made to regret letting that gilt-edged chance go as Vale came extremely close to equalising in the 37th minute. Thompson slipped at left-back and the resulting Vale cross came inches away from flying straight in at the back post. If the hosts had someone running in at the back post it would have been a tap-in to equalise, but unfortunately they had no such player and Brentford were able to shepherd it behind for a goal-kick.

Another chance for a hosts equaliser came and went in the 42nd minute when a pass across his own 6 yard box by Lossl came millimetres from being turned home by Vale’s James Wilson. This kind of messing around at the back had now nearly cost the Bees on 2 separate occasions and it was frustrating to watch them seem to try to throw away their lead. I hope they don’t play like that going forward in the league or further rounds of the cup as better teams than Port Vale.

This was the final chance of the half as there was only 1 minute added on, or at least it only seemed like a minute. I have no idea how long it actually was as I missed the board and the tannoy once again died at the most important moment of the announcement. I have no idea why the tannoy was in such awful shape, but whatever the reason the first half ended 1-0 to the Premier League visitors. The host from League 2 were still in the match though and if they could just get a little more luck with their finishes they might yet win in the second half. One things for sure though, they weren’t making it easy for the visitors.

I went to grab a drink in half-time, but with the queues and with no announcements or screens in the concourse of the Hamill Stand (the away fans end for the match) I lost track of time a little and had missed the start of the second half by the time I returned to my seat. I don’t believe that I missed more than a couple of minutes and my fellow supporters assured me that I had not missed any goals. Whilst this was a relief to know, the fact still remains that I had missed some of the half and not knowing how much I had missed means that any minute markers I give for the second half should be taken with a heaping helping of salt.

That disclaimer out of the way onto the second half and in the 50th minute Vale won a corner on the right that sent the home fans into raptures as they did all they could to inspire a comeback from their team. The corner itself was massively overhit and then put behind for another corner. At the second time of asking things went no better for the hosts as Lossl was able to come and catch the ball just past the far post, it having flown over the heads of everyone in the 6 yard box.

Then in the 53rd minute the Vale manager Darrell Clarke decided to make his first change, bringing on Danny Amos for James Wilson and giving Vale a few minutes with both Amoo and Amos on the pitch. I say a few minutes because in the 59th minute Clarke was at it again making more changes and these changes saw David Amoo removed from the action along with James Gibbons, to be replaced by Dennis Politic and Mal Benning.
This was my impression whilst at the match at any rate, but further fact-checking whilst writing this blog has shown that Amos was not even in the Port Vale squad for the match and that it was instead Harratt who came on for James Wilson. Harratt was not on the programme and as I do this as a normal fan, without any access to offical team-sheets or other media aides I was unable to catch this mistake at the time.

With those changes out of the way the hosts had two chances in 2 minutes to equalise. First in the 60th minute when the somehow managed to guide the ball just wide from 6 yards out and then a minute late when a cross from the right was cleared off a Vale player’s feet by Pinnock in the Bees’ defensive line.

These chances made Thomas Frank decide that the time was now right for the visitors to make a double substitution of their own. Ajer’s return was bought to an end as Mads Roerslev replaced him in the back line and time was also called on Wissa’s match as he was replaced by the returning Bryan Mbuemo.

It was Mbuemo who would make the greater impression off the bench as he doubled the visitors lead 3 minutes after coming on. The ball was fed to Janelt in space in the centre of the pitch and he drove towards goal. His slide rule pass through the defence was perfectly into the path of Mbuemo, who took it in stride and slipped it to the keeper’s left. That’s 2-0 to Brentford and it felt like there was no way back into it for Port Vale.

3 minutes later Port Vale were back in the match with goal of their own. A cross from the left by the recently introduced Politic found its way to the head of Harratt, one of the Vale substitutes not on the programme and who I had mistaken for Amos when he came on in the 53rd minute. I did not know who had scored at the time and without the announcer working I had no way of finding out till I came to write this blog. It is only on double checking my facts whilst writing that I have found out about this mix-up I made on the day.

After their FA-Cup tie against Manchester United, Villa manager Steven Gerrard said that the fans had no idea what was going on during the VAR reviews and after checking my facts for this blog it’s clear that I had even less clue what was going on infront of me at this match. A screen that all fans can see or a working tannoy is an absolute must for football matches, particularly when the teams involved are not well-known or shown on TV often. Even a football-nut like me can make mistakes without them, so how is a casual fan supposed to cope. The mix-up is totally down to me, but a screen I could see or a working tannoy would have been a huge help.

Nonetheless, it was a goal for Port Vale and with the way they had been playing they were certainly back in the match now. It also gave the home fans something to celebrate and so they did. It was great to see the elation in the home stands and it was almost increased a minute later in the 70th minute as a shot from the right point of the box was only kept out by a last second Lossl dive.

Vale getting one back prompted another change for the visitors as they replaced Vitaly Janelt with Shandon Baptiste in the midfield and a minute later they went close to opening their lead up again with a pile driver from Saman Ghoddos that had to be parried away by Stone in the hosts goal.

It was almost level in the match in both the 75th and 77th minutes. in the 75th minute The hosts have the away defence all over the place, but their cross from the right evaded everyone and was knocked behind by Lossl. Then in the 77th minute Lossl was beaten by a chip as he rushed out to the edge of his box to beat the Vale striker to the ball. He was unsuccessful in this endeavour and it looked like the hosts may be drawing level. Unfortunately for them though the visitors defenders were back on the line to head it away from danger and save their keeper’s blushes. Vale came straight back again though and headed over from 12 yards out.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes the match was finely balanced, but a minute later the visitors had wrapped it up. The third Brentford goal came through Mbuemo once more, as he made his mark on his return to action after injury. His second came through a free running attack down the centre at speed. He looked for a pass but when there was none on and with the fans behind the goal urging him to shoot he let rip. He wrapped it round the defender and in off the post. Aidan Stone in the Port Vale goal stood no chance, it was a finish worthy of winning any game and it put took the game away from the hosts.

This third Brentford goal lead to changes for both sides. I have no idea who went on or off for the hosts, but the visitors took off Ghoddos and bought on Ivan Toney. The second Bees sub bought on Myles Peart-Harris for his first appearance in a while. Brentford bringing on their main striker just after they had confirmed their lead was a huge blow to the hosts and their hopes of getting back level in the time remaining.

Brentford should even have had a 4th goal in the 86th minute as Marcus Forss let rip from 15 yards. It was straight down the keeper’s throat, but the power on the shot meant he could only parry it to the feet of Peart-Harris yards from goal. His shot should have nestled in the back of the net, but instead it went straight into the keeper’s legs and away from danger. That should have been 4 for Brentford but Vale kept the deficit to just 2 for now.

A minute later Brentford had their 4th and the game was truly done. There were fouls on both Peart-Harris and Toney in the box, but it was the Toney one that the referee gave the penalty for. Normally Toney is the penalty taker for Brentford, but with Mbuemo on his hat-trick it was him who took the penalty. Mbuemo’s penalty was straight down the middle and that completes his hat-trick. The joy he took from scoring 3 on his return to action was written all over his face and I hope he can take the joy from this and turn it into excellent form in the league.

Brentford almost got a spectacular 5th in the penultimate minute of the match as Toney let fly from halfway. It looked for a minute as though it was going to beat the keeper, but at the last second Stone got back to prevent it crossing the line.

That was the last action of the half as Brentford made it through to the next round of the cup. Port Vale did better than the final score-line suggests, but an away win is still the right result all things considered. The reward for the Bees winning this match is an away draw at Benitez’s stuttering Everton. A game that I really hope to be able to get a ticket for,

There will be a little break in this blog though as I was unable to get a ticket for Brentford’s visit to Liverpool this weekend to play the red side of the city. Their game in London was a cracker that ended 3-3 and I’m sure their game this weekend will be just as brilliant. Being unable to get a ticket though I have made other plans for the weekend, so my next blog will be in at least a week’s time as I return to London next week for the rescheduled match between Brentford and Manchester United.