Port Vale turned up wanting to draw Sheffield Wednesday into a battle at Hillsborough on Thursday evening. And they were met with a solid and controlled performance.
The Owls scored twice through Michael Smith to win out 2-0, a scoreline that reflected a performance that extended their unbeaten league run to 12 matches.
Only a ‘goal scored’ prevents them from ending 2022 in the automatic places as they outfought their visitors and sent them packing.
Here are our player ratings for Wednesday after they signed off on 2022 with a Hillsborough win.
Here are our player ratings for Wednesday after they signed off on 2022 with a Hillsborough win.
13. Will Vaulks - 7
Wasted no time in getting involved after replacing Bannan early doors. Crashed into a tet-a-tet with Ellis Harrison to get the crowd interested and then took on the edge-of-box shot that eventually led to the penalty. Missed a great chance to score from Smith's knockdown on 55 minutes. Photo: UGC/Steve Ellis
Replaced Mighten with a point to prove and wasn't reckless with it, offering energy down the right and sticking to his job throughout a decent cameo. Photo: UGC/Steve Ellis