Deveronvale came oh so close to forcing a replay against Third Division title hopefuls Greenock Morton in Monday night's re-arranged Scottish Cup tie but in the end it was too little too late for the Banffers as they crashed out at the first time of asking.
Late goals from substitute Ritchie Taylor followed by a super strike from Centre-Half Bryan Dlugonski and a own-goal by Morton's Gaughan weren't enough to take the West of Scotland outfit back to Princess Royal Park for a reply as Vale rallied late in the match.
The visitors gave as good as they got for the first half hour of the match but missed chances cost them dearly and when their hosts went three up at the interval it looked as though the hundred strong travelling support had made the long trip in vain.
Boss Gregg Carrol was forced into one change from the side which had hit seven past Wick on Vale's last competitive match, Mark Chisholm replacing Paul Urquhart on the left-hand side of midfield due to the latter's unavailability because of a broken thumb.

The visitors were quick out of the traps as the wind and rain swirled across the Cappielow pitch and a good chance fell to Chisholm after some good play between McKenzie & McAllister but the midfielder's right-footed strike was blocked for a fruitless corner much to the disappointment of the noisy away support.
After such a good start by the visitors it was hard to take when they found themselves trailing after only three minutes. Montgomery lost the ball to Morton's Uotinen and the midfielder struck an unstoppable drive past the despairing Thompson and into the net off the underside of the crossbar from all of 25 yards.
Vale to their credit hit back and a sweeping run and cross from Dolan set-up a relatively easy chance for Chisholm but the usually deadly header of the ball missed the target from just four or five yards out when unmarked.
Thompson was forced into a fine save at the other end as again Uotinen shot on sight from distance with great accuracy. Vale then had loud appeals for a penalty turned down by referee Murray when McAllister looked to have been bundled over as he looked to bring a Dolan cross-field pass under control before lining up a shot. Thompson plucked a dangerous cross out of the air under pressure from Williams and at the other end his opposite number was forced to punch a McKenzie cross clear as Murray looked to pounce.
The home side went two-up after 34 minutes when a low cross from McDonald was deflected past his own keeper by the knee of Mark Chisholm as he attempted to clear the danger.
Scott Anderson's attempted clearance forced Thompson into a fine tip over the top as the home side started to win the midfield battle and put their opponents on the back foot. Worse was to follow for the Banffer's four minutes from the break when McDonald rose unchallenged to head strongly past Thompson from a corner kick and put 'Ton in a very strong position. On the stroke of the half-time whistle Montgomery's fierce drive went inches over the top with Coyle, in the Morton goal, firmly rooted to the spot.

The second period was always going to be very difficult for the visitors and it turned into a rather scrappy affair with neither team gaining the upper hand early on although Vale did win a free kick in a good position but McKenzie choked his effort wide.
Gregg Carrol quite rightly decided to freshen things up and replaced Chisholm and Montgomery with Taylor and Brown in quick succession in an attempt to get something out of the game. Not for the first time this season it turned out to be an inspiration substitution as Vale grabbed a lifeline when TAYLOR deflected Brown's long-range drive past the helpless Coyle from the edge of the area.
Minutes later Vale broke clear following a 'Ton corner but McAllister failed to control the ball as it fell to him 20 yards from goal and the chance went a-begging. McKenzie tested Coyle with a grounder, which lacked the power to trouble the home keeper. On a rare second-half flurry into their opponents box the home side were awarded a very dubious penalty when it looked clear to all in the stadium that Dlugonski, who was having a fine match, clearly played the ball out for a corner before substitute Cannie fell over. However, referee Murray, who to be fair to him, was in an excellent position pointed to the spot and Williams more or less killed the tie when he stuck the ball into the far corner past the diving Thompson.
Vale weren't to be denied and DLUGONSKI made amends at the other end when he scored an early contender for goal of the competition with a neat piece of skill at the edge of the penalty box before unleashing a stunning strike, which simply flew past Coyle and into the net. The visitors made their final substitution when they replaced McAllister with live-wire winger Barry Stephen and he immediately caused havoc down the Morton right side. On one of Stephen's first raids his awkward cross into the box was diverted past his own keeper by GAUGHAN to set up a grand stand finish.
Levi Stephen came so close to forcing a Wednesday night replay when he was inches from reaching another tempting cross from namesake Barry at the near post before time ran out on the Banffers and it was all over for at least another season in the national competition.

Vale boss Gregg Carrol was full of praise for the effort shown by his players after their showing and late fight-back. He said, "We came here to play football and we did just that. I think we've proved that the standard of play in the Highland League isn't that far behind the Third Division". Carrol was obviously disappointed to loose such an early goal but failed to blame his players for not holding onto the ball on a very wet surface. Carrol added "There is never a good time to loose a goal but we might have crumbled after loosing such an early one down here but we buckled down to create one or two chances of our own".
Carrol failed to be drawn on the penalty award, which turned out to be the winner for the home side, stating "There was a bit of a debate about the award but I thought the referee had a superb match and when he gave the decision you just have to accept it".

Vale:
Speirs, Dolan, Kinghorn, Chisholm (Taylor 61), #Anderson, McAllister (B. Stephen 83), L. Stephen, McKenzie, #Murray, Montgomery (Brown 65)
Subs not used: Urquhart, Speirs
Greenock Morton:
Coyle, Collins, Bottiglieri, McGregor, Gaughan, M. Maisano (Bannerman 62), MacDonald, J. Maisano, Williams, Hawke, Uotinen (Cannie 66)
Referee: C. Murray