The Valiants remain rooted to the foot of the League One table after slumping to their seventh successive away defeat, and their hopes of avoiding the drop are looking increasingly bleak.

Rovers, on the other hand, continue to entertain high hopes of Championship football next season - most likely via an automatic promotion spot.

With other results going their way, it is looking increasingly likely that it will be a battle between Rovers and Carlisle for second spot - though neither is yet ready to concede the title to Swansea.

The Cumbrians are a good side, especially at Brunton Park, and would climb above Rovers were they to win their game in hand.

But for my money, Rovers are better equipped to handle the demands of the run-in.

What do you think? Post your comments below.

The quality and adaptability of their squad was again highlighted as midfielder Paul Green dropped into the back-three in the absence of Steve Roberts and James O'Connor, and took the man-of-the match award.

Although solid in defence, it was Green's attacking qualities which saw him edge out such as Richie Wellens and Paul Heffernan. It is likely that Green spent more time in the Vale half than his own and he was a threat throughout down the right.

More often than not this season, Rovers have struggled whenever striker Jason Price has been missing.

But Heffernan has come in and done so well in the last two games that the charismatic Welshman has hardly been missed.

It was Heffernan, scorer of the only goal of the game at Bristol Rovers in midweek, who broke the deadlock after just eleven minutes.

He fastened on to a half clearance and returned the ball with interest - his shot from the edge of the area just crossing the line after hitting the underside of the crossbar.

"I didn't know whether the ball had crossed the line or not from where I was, but fortunately the linesman was well placed to make a decision," said Heffernan.

"When you are playing sides like Port Vale, who are fighting for their lives, the longer the score remains at 0-0 the more it gives them something to hold on to. But thankfully we scored a couple of early goals today and that was good enough to get us through."

McCammon made it 2-0 on 19 minutes when scoring his first goal of 2008.

Heffernan laid the ball off to James Coppinger whose shot struck McCammon six yards out. The big man reacted quickly to drill the ball home past keeper Joe Anyon.

"It was my first goal since Boxing Day so it is a weight off my shoulders," said the striker.

"I've had chances - they just haven't been going in. But I knew that the goals would come. I could have had a hat-trick.

I was unfortunate to hit the crossbar with a header - had I scored it would have killed the game off - and I also had a goal disallowed for offside in the second."

Vale pulled a goal back on 34 minutes when Rovers failed to deal with a ball into the box by Chris Herd and fellow midfielder Danny Whitaker netted from two yards out.

Rovers finished the half strongly and carried on from where they had left off at the start of the second half with Heffernan shooting just wide from 25 yards.

Said the Irishman: "If we had got a goal then, or at any time, I think that we would have pushed on because a third goal would have knocked the stuffing out of them.

"But fair play to Port Vale they made it very hard for us and they were unlucky not to equalise late on after both Matt Mills and Greenie had gone close.

Rovers' failure to kill the game off almost proved costly on when Chris Herd hit the inside of the left-hand post with keeper Neil Sullivan. But they hung on to complete a second successive double over the Vale Park club.

"I think that you could tell that it was second versus bottom in the first 20 minutes or so," said Vale boss Lee Sinnott. "We had a contingency plan and we introduced it after we went 2-0 down and the changes helped stem the flow a little bit.

"But Doncaster pass the ball around very well. In the first half their movement was excellent and we couldn't cope with them. But full credit to the players. They made a fist of it in the second half and while the score is 2-1 there is always the chance that you can nick an equaliser and Chris Herd almost scored when hitting thepost."

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