Ben Waine effort enough as Port Vale edge Bristol Rovers to reach third round

Port Vale booked their place in the third round of the FA Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

In a match between two sides struggling badly for form in their respective leagues, Ben Waine’s second goal in as many matches secured victory for League One Vale against their League Two opponents.

Waine had the ball in the net early on for the Valiants, but his header was ruled out for offside.

Four players – two from each team – were given yellow cards midway through the first half after a melee broke out following an off-the-ball incident.

Rovers had a great chance to take the lead just after the half-hour mark, with Ellis Harrison getting on the end of Bryant Bilongo’s cross before seeing his effort well saved by Ben Amos.

Down at the other end, Waine blazed a shot over the crossbar from George Hall’s perfectly-weighted delivery just before half-time.

But the New Zealand forward made no mistake within two minutes of the restart, firing the ball home after latching onto a pass in behind from Connor Hall.

Vale missed opportunities to add to their advantage, with captain George Byers going close on a few occasions and Ruari Paton hitting the side netting from Devante Cole’s cross.

But it did not matter in the end as they saw the game out to ensure they will be in the hat for the third-round draw.