Antony Kay’s late header clinches Port Vale point against Cheltenham

Posted Sunday, December 16, 2018 by PA

Antony Kay’s injury-time header rescued a point for Port Vale as they recorded a 2-2 draw with Cheltenham at Vale Park.

Neil Aspin’s Vale led after 13 minutes when Scott Brown’s punt up field was controlled by Tom Pope before a well-worked move saw Luke Hannant’s low cross from the left turned in by Cristian Montano from close-range beyond Scott Flinders.

But Michael Duff’s lowly Cheltenham were level after 26 minutes as Sam Jones reacted first inside the six-yard box to divert his shot into the net with Brown parrying Ryan Broom’s effort.

Following the break, Brown was forced to punch Chris Hussey’s drive away while Vale’s Manny Oyeleke lacked composure, firing over when well positioned before Montano’s shot was held by Flinders as the hosts pushed for a winner in the Staffordshire downpour.

Cheltenham thought they had won it with two minutes remaining when Nigel Atangana stroked a right-footed daisycutter which went through a crowd of players to beat Brown in his bottom right-corner.

Kay’s late header – three minutes into stoppage time – from Tom Conlon’s corner earned Vale a valuable point in dramatic circumstances.