Burton Albion Football Club

Loan signing Jordan Chapell made an immediate impact scoring just three minutes into his Albion debut after coming on as a substitute to give the Brewers a second half lead against high flying Staffordshire rivals Port Vale. 

The Valiants showed their quality though to deservedly equalise when another substitute, Ben Williamson pounced to equalise and guarantee a share of the spoils for the Potteries side in a pulsating Staffordshire derby. 

Chapell had to settle for a place on the substitutes bench having only completed his move from Sheffield United earlier in the day. Cleveland Taylor was the man given the chance to impress on the right hand side of midfield in place of Jack Dyer. That was the only change to the side that lost their eight game unbeaten run at Gillingham on Saturday. 

A cagey opening was nothing of a surprise between the Staffordshire rivals but it was Vale who had the first sight of goal on five minutes when a slip by Rob Kiernan on the edge of the box allowed him to bear down on goal but former Vale keeper Stuart Tomlinson was down quickly to cover his low shot. Dodds also had another opportunity quickly afterwards when a crossfield pass was played into his path but under pressure he failed to beat Tomlinson again. 

Calvin Zola was close for Albion on eight minutes when Lee Bell swung over a corner from the left and his former Crewe team mate rose highest to head straight at Chris Neal in the Vale goal. 

Albion were close again in the 11th minute when a Bell free kick caused mayhem in the Vale area and when Zola picked out Matt Paterson on the right hand side of the area, only a block by striker Tom Pope stopped his goalbound shot finding the back of the net. 

The link up play of Albion's front two almost reaped dividends again in the 17th minute as Zola battled his way through a couple of challenges before sliding the ball into the path of Paterson whose shot went fizzing just over the crossbar. 

Burton continued to impress and Rob Taylor had to hastily concede a corner as Cleveland Taylor tried to sneak in onto a Maghoma cross and from the resulting set piece Zander Diamond rose highest at the back post to test Neal. 

Vale produced a spurt of attacking action after a long period on the back foot but neither Chris Shuker or Sam Morsy could conjure up an effort to seriously trouble Tomlinson. 

Albion were quickly back on the front foot and Zola had another headed chance in the 39th minute but again from Lee Bell's free kick he could not quite steer the ball wide enough of Vale keeper Chris Neal. 

A flurry of bookings saw both Diamond and Clayton McDonald pick up cards for challenges that were clumsy more than anything else and Lee Bell followed shortly afterwards for a tackle that left Morsy requiring treatment. 

Half time: Burton Albion 0-0 Port Vale

The second half began at a frantic pace with Vale having made a half time change, Richard Duffy having to be replaced by former Albion loanee Adam Yates after picking up an injury right at the end of the first half. 

Zola quickly had a chance to strike but his snapshot flew wide of the post and with their tails up Damien McCrory surged forwards on a rampaging run that ended with a shot deflected wide of goal. 

Vale were on the back foot and Neal needed two goes to deal with Lee Bell's curling effort on 54 minutes. 

Albion made their first change of the evening in the 63rd minute with Paterson brought off for the fresh legs of Billy Kee. Seven minutes later and new boy Chapell was introduced for his first appearance in a Brewers shirt when he replaced Cleveland Taylor. 

The youngster had only been on the pitch for three minutes when the twenty one year old struck for the Brewers. Billy Kee and Zola launched an attack down the right and when the youngster was played in just inside the penalty area he floated the ball over to the far post where it deceived Neal and dropped inside the net. 

Albion's lead lasted barely two minutes as Vale hit back with a vengeance. A pacy counter down the left had Jennison Myrie-Williams scampering away to produce a teasing cross that susbstitute Ben WILLIAMSON pounced on to bundle into the net. In the aftermath of the goal Albion keeper Stuart Tomlinson picked up an injury that meant he was unable to continue and Dean Lyness was thrust into the action for his League debut. 

Vale sensed a chance to seize the three points and pushed Albion back in search of the winner but Albion were able to offer good protection to their rookie keeper. 

Maghoma had Neal scrambling to make a low save as the clock ticked onto ninety minutes with nobody on hand to capitalise on the loose ball as the fourth official signalled eight added minutes. 

Vale had the better openings in stoppage time but winger Ashley Vincent lacked the composure to match his undoubted wing play firing straight into the body of Lyness and then blazing a shot well over the bar when well placed to test Lyness. 

In the end a draw was probably a fair result for both teams in front of Albion's best home crowd of the season. 

  

BURTON: Tomlinson; O'Connor, Diamond, Kiernan, McCrory; C.Taylor, Bell, Weir, Maghoma; Zola, Paterson. Substitutes: Corbett, Stanton, Richards, Lyness, Rooney, Chapell, Kee. 

PORT VALE: Neal, R.Taylor, McCombe, Dodds, Myrie-Williams, Vincent, Pope, McDonald, Shuker, Morsy, Duffy. Substitutes: Yates, Johnson, Davis, Williamson, James, Lloyd, Burge. 

Referee: Mr. G.Salisbury (Lancashire) 

GOALS: Albion - Chapell (73); Vale - Williamson (75)