New Mechanics boss Alan Scott made league leaders Vale fight all the way for the points in an entertaining ninety minutes of football at Most Park on Saturday. Vale had gone into an early three-goal lead through strikes by Mike McKenzie, Ian Murray & Darren McKenzie with the home side replying through Charlie Brown late on in the first half. The second period saw the 'Can-Cans' come roaring back at their visitors but had only a single counter through ex-Vale winger Franny More to show for their efforts. Mike McKenzie was also on the score sheet in the second forty-five making sure that all three points were going back along the Moray Coast to Banff. Scott, in charge of his first game for the home side, surprised a few faces in the crowd by handing a debut to his son Rob who it has to be said slotted-in well to a Mechanics back-four. Vale boss Gregg Carrol made one or two changes to the side, which had conquered over the Dons last Friday, most notably handing a starting berth to Nigel Montgomery who was drafted into the middle of the park along side Brown & Chisholm with Levi Stephen listed among the five substitutes.

Vale kicked off the match facing the low sun, which shone brightly down the Most slope, but it was the home side who settled the quicker and were soon on the offensive. Thompson was forced into tipping over an awkward looping header from Charlie Brown for an early corner kick and from the set piece Morrison fired a low shot straight across the face of goal but the ball ran harmlessly out of play much to the relief of the large travelling support.
Vale grabbed the lead with their first real attack of the match when Steve Dolan swung in an awkward bouncing cross and as the ball broke to the edge of the area Darren McALLISTER smashed it high past McRitchie into the roof of the net via the cross bar. Seconds later the home support had loud shouts for a penalty waved away by referee Paul Cheyne. Matty Kinghorn was way too short with a pass-back to Thompson and Brown latched onto it in a flash but as the striker attempted to round the Vale Number One he went tumbling to the deck under Thompson's challenge. Dlugonski quickly cleared the loose ball and play continued although Morrison was yellow carded for his loud protest. Ross volleyed high over from 20 yards before the visitors doubled their advantage with Steve Dolan again the instigator. The left-sided defender was picked out in acres of space by McKenzie just inside the Forres penalty box and although McRitchie got a strong hand to "Dippy's" fierce drive across the keeper the ball fell kindly for Mike McKENZIE who drilled the loose ball into the back of the net from 12 yards.
As the game restarted Charlie Brown broke clear of the Vale rearguard but his tame effort was easily collected by Thompson. The same player then tested Thompson with a speculative effort but the ball was always on-the-up and Thompson was happy to see it clear his cross bar. Anderson was forced to head clear at the far post following another raid into the Vale penalty area by the home side. At the other end Murray had a golden opportunity to kill the game when he was picked out by Darren McAllister's pin-point cross but McRitchie made a smart save with his left foot to keep his side in the contest. The big keeper however could do little minutes later to prevent a third goal from the visitors. A loose ball fell to top-scorer Ian MURRAY 8 yards out after Dolan and Simmers had both jumped to meet a McAllister cross and the league's top-scorer somewhat unconvincingly stroked the ball past the helpless McRitchie to his side on easy street.
Dolan, who could have had a first-half hat-trick, found McRitchie to hot to handle when the stopper again denied him his first goal of the season with a fine save diving full length to divert the ball for a corner when it looked sure to nestle into his top right-hand corner.
Charlie Brown pulled a goal back for the 'can cans' eight minutes from the break when he tapped home from close range after Thompson could only parry a Morrison strike across the face of goal. "Dippy" Dolan had another effort saved by McRitchie on the stroke of the half-time whistle when he again evaded his marker on the left-hand side only to see the Mechanics keeper get a hand to his well-struck drive and divert the ball out for a fruitless corner.

The home side came out fighting in the second period and pinned Vale back in their own half without really threatening Barry Thompson's goal. However a break away by the visitors almost paid off when McKenzie released Murray through on goal in the 51st minute but the inspired McRitchie pulled off another fine stop to deny the Vale a fourth. The Banff side restored their three goal advantage three minutes later when a quick free kick by Dlugonski allowed Mike McKENZIE ample time to set himself before unleashing a fine low drive which curled and dipped awkwardly in front of McRitchie giving the keeper no chance this time. Vale were caught within a minute of scoring at one end with a sucker punch at the other. Ex-Vale winger Franny More looped a header past Thompson off Neil Whyte's deep cross to far post with the visitors seemingly still celebrating McKenzie's goal.
Montgomery saw his chipped effort headed off the line and at the other end Thompson dropped a 'bread and butter' cross but fortunately for the keeper there were no Forres strikers on hand to punish his error. Thompson was called into action again on the hour mark but reacted well this time to deny Brown who was giving the Vale defence a torrid time with his movement on and off the ball. Gregg Carrol replaced the ineffective Mark Chisholm with Terry Kidd in an effort to consolidate the Vale's advantage but the home side continued to dominate the majority of the play. Charlie Brown forced Thompson into another decent stop when he broke clear of the Vale rearguard and went looking for his second of the afternoon. Ian Murray did likewise at the other end but was crudely taken down before he had the opportunity to strike for goal. The resultant free kick failed to get past the Mechanics defensive wall and as the home side broke up field Thompson did brilliantly to protect Vale's two-goal cushion when he parried Ross's well-struck effort before Anderson completed the clearance.
Vale made a further change when they brought on Ritchie Taylor and Levi Stephen for Ian Murray and Robbie Brown respectively but by this time the home side seemed to be running out of steam not surprisingly considering the effort they had put into the match. Substitute Taylor was unlucky to see his effort saved by McRitchie as he broke clear following a good piece of skill from Mike McKenzie. The last chance of the match fell to veteran Nigel Montgomery but he seemed to lose sight of the ball inside the penalty box allowing Simmers the opportunity to clear the ball to safety.

Vale:
Thompson, Dolan, Kinghorn, Chisholm (Kidd 61), Dlugonski, Anderson, McAllister, #Brown (L. Stephen 82), McKenzie, Murray (Taylor 82), Montgomery
Subs not used: B. Stephen, Speirs

Forres:
McRitchie, Munro, #Scott, #Watt, #Simmers, Rowley, #Whyte, Brown, Ross, More, #Morrison
Subs not used: Moore, Rae (GK)

Referee: P. Cheyne

"Its important to come to places like Forres and get a result. It wasn't the best of games and in fact it was probably the worst we've played all season" said a disgruntled Gregg Carrol following the six-goal thriller. "But having said that it's another big step closer towards the title" added Carrol