Vale had to settle for a solitary point for the second week running when visitors Cove Rangers pushed them 'all the way' in an exciting match for the large crowd and in a game which in the end could have went either way. The Banff side had taken an early lead through Mike McKenzie and should probably have doubled it before Jim Cheyne equalised soon before the interval, with a close range header.
A minute's silence was observed before kick off in honour of ex-Vale outside-left Irvine Chalmers who sadly passed away recently.
Visitors Cove, dawning an unfamiliar Canary Yellow kit, won the toss and elected to play the first period against the South Westerly breeze, which blew down Princess Royal Park.

As the game got underway Mark Coull in the Rangers goal was put to the test when a whipped McKenzie cross dipped awkwardly in front of him but the keeper did well to hold under pressure from Ian Murray. Murray then found himself straight through on the Cove number one with the visiting back line looking rather square but the league's top scorer passed up the opportunity when he hit a rather tame effort straight at Coull. Ex-Vale midfielder Mark Smith was perhaps fortunate to get away with just a lecture from the referee when he took Barry Stephen out with a high but innocuous challenge. The aforementioned Stephen then had two decent opportunities saved by Coull when he twice cut inside Cheyne in a matter of minutes before firing straight down the throat of the visiting keeper from the edge of the penalty box.
The Banffer's early pressure paid off when they took the lead with less than ten minutes of the match played. Dolan's quickly taken throw-in released Mike McKENZIE in the Cove box and the in-form striker turned McGinlay brilliantly before curling a beauty past Coull from 8 yards.
Coull was forced to finger-tip a McKenzie cross-come shot over the top as Vale continued to put the Rangers back line under pressure and could so easily have doubled their advantage five minutes later. Levi Stephen released Murray through on goal with a defence splitting pass but with the visiting back-three looking across for a raised flag the prolific goal scorer screwed his shot past Coull and the upright with the goal at his mercy. Smith tried his luck from distance but Thompson didn't look too worried as the ball fizzed low past his right-hand post and out for a goal kick. Chisholm headed over from close range following a Barry Stephen corner and at the other end Anderson had to look alert as he cleared in front of his own goal following a John Brown free kick, which completely eluded Barry Thompson.
Kenny Coull had a great chance to pull Cove level but his header landed on the wrong side of Thompson's right-hand upright much to the relief of Bryan Dlugonski who seemed to loose the flight of the ball for a vital second. Anderson's timing was again exceptional as he averted another Rangers raid by clearing off the toe of Mike Beattie as the marksman looked to pull the trigger. McKenzie inadvertently deflected Brown's drive high towards goal but the ball landed on the wrong side of the cross bar much to the relief of Mark Coull who was caught flatfooted by the deflection. With only three minutes of the half remaining the visitors levelled the match when Cheyne rose high above Barry Stephen to head a Brown cross from the right past Thompson from 6 yards

Murray had the ball in the Cove net soon after the re-start but the stand-side lineman's flag was quickly raised for offside against the striker. McKenzie then opened up the Rangers rearguard but his tempting cross was inches too high for the waiting Murray at the far stick. Coull's shot on the turn was close enough to worry Thompson but drifted just wide of both the post and the cross bar. Murray then forced a fine stop from Coull when he slipped the Cove defence only to be denied from close range by the visiting keeper at the expense of a fruitless corner.
Coull and Beattie combined brilliantly but the latter's finish lacked the finesse of the move and was easily saved by Thompson. Vale had claims for a penalty waved away by referee Conroy when Barry Stephen looked to have been impeded by Cheyne as he ran onto a McKenzie cross inside the 18-yard box. The game started to open up as players tired and both sides looked quite capable of grabbing the winning goal as play flowed from end to end. Mark Smith and Levi Stephen were both cautioned for their part in an ugly tussle inside the centre circle with the latter perhaps a shade lucky not to see red, as he appeared to lash out at his Cove counterpart.
Chisholm came very close to putting the home side ahead when he headed a Barry Stephen corner against the face of the crossbar with Coull well beaten. Mark Coull then produced the save of the match with a fine stop low to his left after a great run by Matty Kinghorn which saw the defender dribble into the visitor's box before unleashing a low shot which looked a goal all the way until Coull diverted to ball to safety.
Dlugonski went on a great run down the left flank but his low cross was cleared for another corner by McGinlay before it could reach the lurking Murray inside the penalty area. Cheyne could have won the game for the visitors when he was allowed a free header inside the Vale 18-yard box following a Brown corner but fortunately for the home side the ball bounced harmlessly wide of goal.
In a melee inside the Vale penalty box Brown's speculative effort bounced off Thompson's right-hand post before being cleared by Kinghorn.
As the clock counted down the home side made a late personnel change by bringing on Ritchie Taylor for the tiring Mark Chisholm but it was a little too late for the striker to make an impact and the game petered out a disappointing but fair draw.

Vale:
Thompson, Dolan, Kinghorn, Chisholm (Taylor 87), Dlugonski, Anderson, B. Stephen (McAllister 79) #L. Stephen, #McKenzie, Murray, Brown
Subs not used: Montgomery, Kidd, Pressley,

Cove:
M. Coull, Summers (Yeates 82), #Cheyne, Pilichos, McGinlay, Allan, Brown, #Smith (McGraw 79), K. Coull, Beattie, Livingston (Mullen 79)
Subs not used: Greig, Charles (GK)

"At the end of the day a draw suits us better than Cove so we have to be reasonably happy". Said a philosophical Vale Boss Gregg Carrol after the match.
The Banffer's have a free Saturday next weekend before travelling to Forres on the 22nd of February.