A miserable afternoon in Ballymurphy seen Celtic drop their first points of the season.
Ballymurphy had a slow tired start. Was the toy show the night before to blame? The wind? The horizontal rain? Or was it the strong Vale side who started from the first whistle?
Vale were very dominant for the first 10 minutes. Winning every 50/50 ball. On 12 minutes Ethan Chambers found himself in space. He smashed a shot from just outside the box, the ball slipped through the goalkeepers wet gloves.1 nil Vale
Finally Ballymurphy got going and seen their best spell of the game. On 18 minutes Danny Jordan picked up the ball in the centre of the park. Clever footwork and a lovely through ball sent Sam Traynor away. Sam left two defenders in his wake before curling a lovely little shot to make it 1 all.
Four minutes later Ruairi O'brien put bally ahead. He went on a solo run down the right wing. His goal bound shot took a slight deflection and past the Vale keeper.
Bobby Ivers, in goal, ensures bally finished the half ahead when he bravely saved at the feet of an onrushing striker.
2 - 1 to Ballymurphy at halftime.
In the second half Vale, playing with the wind, really turned up the pressure and Ballymurphy seldom troubled the Vale goal. The trio of Frankie Doyle, Ethan Chambers and Conor Ryan in Vales midfield linked up really well. Vale created chance after chance but the bally boys stood their ground. With two in the first half and two in the second half has seen Zenon Jordan master the art of the last ditch tackle. Cillian Foley cleared ball after ball, never putting a foot wrong all game.
Eventually Vale, with a bit of luck, scored the equaliser on 45 minutes. Ruairi Farrell pounced on a loose ball and found himself 1 on 1 with Bobby Ivers. Bobby got a foot to the low shot but the ball trickled over the line.
2 all the final result.
Best for Ballymurphy: Zenon Jordan, Bobby Ivers, Cillian Foley.
Best for Vale: Frankie Doyle, Ethan Chambers, Conor Ryan.