By Hugo Varley
Port Vale booked their place in League One next season in emphatic fashion as they cruised past Mansfield Town with a 3-0 win under the Wembley Arch.
Quick fire goals from Kian Harratt and James Wilson in a manic flurry of first half minutes, were followed by a late Mal Benning strike to hand Darrell Clarke’s side a thoroughly deserved victory and set the Vale fans up for a Saturday night to remember in the bright lights of London.
It could have all turned out so differently as Mansfield were presented with a glorious chance to take the lead in one of the game’s opening plays.
A miscue at the back saw Jamie Murphy presented with a free header in the centre of the box, but the onrushing Aidan Stone did brilliantly to beat the ball away from point blank range.
This early scare seemed to spark Port Vale into life and triggered a dramatic four-minute sequence, which will live forever in the memory of the Vale faithful.
First, Huddersfield Town loanee Kian Harratt agonisingly struck the inside of the post with a terrific side footed effort from the edge of the box, before he turned anguish to ecstasy in a matter of seconds.
Former Mansfield midfielder Benning delivered a superb cross from the left-hand side, which picked out Harratt, who made absolutely no mistake to nod the ball home from close range and send the Port Vale fans into pandemonium.
Buoyed by this breakthrough, Darrell Clarke’s men began to surge forward at every opportunity, exploiting the increasingly gaping holes in the Mansfield backline and just moments later they doubled their advantage.
Once again Vale found space out wide, this time David Worrall brilliantly clipped a cross onto the head of Ben Garrity, whose looping effort crashed against the bar, before being pounced upon by Man of the Match Wilson.
The second goal capped off a spellbinding mini segment of the game for Port Vale, leaving The Stags in a state of disarray. which worsened further just after the half hour mark.
A frustration-ridden late challenge by Oli Hawkins saw the former Ipswich Town man handed a second yellow card, giving Mansfield an Everest-esque mountain to climb.
As half-time approached, Nigel Clough’s side came millimetres away from pulling one back through Rhys Oates.
Stone flapped at a loose ball, which presented the Stags’ top goal scorer with a snapshot opportunity, however just as Oates turned away to celebrate, Vale’s Connor Hall desperately cleared the ball off the line. It summed up a first half of misfortune for Mansfield, which ultimately cost them the tie.
The Mansfield support remained defiant throughout the second forty-five, but they couldn’t spur their side into mustering any clear-cut chances to drag themselves back into the game.
Oates tested the palms of Stone with a fierce volley and Jordan Bowery clipped a dangerous cross into box, but Mansfield ultimately failed to produce anything resembling a fightback.
Instead, it was Port Vale who continued to look the more dangerous in possession and after twice having goals ruled out for marginal offside calls, they rounded off a special day in style.
As The Stags poured forwards, they were exposed on the counterattack, with Benning brilliantly chest controlling a driven cross, before rifling home in front of the Vale supporters.
It confined Mansfield to a first Saturday defeat since mid-October but secured an emotionally charged win for Vale, whose manager Darrell Clarke returned from compassionate leave at the end of March.
