4:59pm Saturday 4th September 2010
By Simon Parker
City's dire start continued as Port Vale made it four defeats in the opening five league games.
There were more boos from the Valley Parade crowd following another grim afternoon.
After a fairly bright opening, City's fragile confidence was punctured after 33 minutes when Marc Richards was left unmarked to head home from a corner.
Vale defender John McCombe hammered a clearance against his own bar from a cross by Jake Speight, who was again the liveliest home player by far.
Speight then handled in front of goal from Luke Oliver's knockdown right on half-time as City pressed for an equaliser.
But Vale always looked the better side and made sure of their third successive away win with a gift goal 15 minutes from time.
Tommy Doherty's poor backpass was miscontrolled by Jon McLaughlin, allowing Justin Richards to walk the ball home.
City's day was summed up when a goal-bound effort from Gareth Evans late on struck Speight and rebounded out.
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