Deveronvale's last competitive match of their championship winning year ended on a high when they picking up all three points at the expense of visitors Nairn County and to complete a satisfying afternoon for the Banffers, league leaders Clach were held at home by Inverurie Locos meaning that the gap at the top of the table was cut to just two points.
Jamie Watt, making his first start for Vale since rejoining the club, grabbed a goal in each half to ease the pressure on the home side before the impressive Paul Urquhart completed the scoring with a tap in midway through the second period.
Nairn's miserable day was complete when Steve Sanderson was red carded for swearing at an official ninety seconds after coming on as a second half but by that time the points were well and truly tied up by the boys in red.
Gregg Carrol made just one change to the eleven who started at Lossie last Saturday, replacing Darren McAllister with new kid on the block, Jamie Watt meaning a slight tinkering with the line-up which saw Barrie Stephen take up position on the right side of the midfield leaving Watt to join Mike McKenzie up front.

Vale kicked off the rather low-key affair and created an early opening when Barrie Stephen latched onto a Paul Urquhart cutback only to fire wide of the left-hand post from 12-yards.
A neat one-two between Robbie Brown and Jamie Watt almost paid off for the Banff side but Watt's centre was just behind Brown, who was completely unmarked inside the six-yard box.
Ryan Pressley was at full stretch to deny Barron a clear run at goal as the visitors slowly started to find their way into the encounter.
Kellacher then had a decent chance to open the scoring but Scott Anderson arrived just in the nick of time to deflect his effort for a fruitless corner. Stuart Gray was next to clear a dangerous County attack for a flag kick, which was again wasted by the visitors. Vale grabbed the lead after twenty-seven minutes when Jamie WATT cracked the ball under Mike Rae from just inside the penalty box after he was set-up by Paul Urquhart's slide-rule pass, although Rae was unlucky that his strong hand didn't do enough to divert Watt's well-struck drive wide of the mark but instead it slipped over the line despite Smith's last ditch attempt to clear.
Rae did better moments later when he blocked Watt's effort for a corner which in turn led to Ewing clearing of his line from another Jamie Watt effort as Vale went looking for a quick second.
Robbie Brown had the ball in the net shortly after but referee Stuart Logan had already blown for a free kick to County.
Ross Bremner stood up well to block Barron's low drive but the far-side linesman had already raised his flag for offside against the Nairn striker. Minutes later and with no flag this time, Bremner did it again when he expertly denied Kellacher with his legs after the hit-man had sneaked in behind Ryan Pressley and looked sure to pull his side level. Right on the stroke of the half-time whistle Rae saved McKenzie's well-struck grounder after the Vale number nine had made room for himself at the edge of the County penalty box.

The Banff side started the second forty-five on the ascendancy and Mike McKenzie blazed well wide of the target before Jamie Watt poked inches past the upright when he ran onto a through ball and was left with only Rae to beat.
Watt then completely missed his kick 15-yards from goal after a great cross from the right courtesy of Barrie Stephen.
Pressley was cautioned for tripping Holmes as he burst clear of the Vale defence and from the resultant free kick Bremner did well to fist clear under pressure from MacLeod and co. McKenzie pulled clear of two County defenders before disappointingly pulling his strike well wide of the target as the game swung to the other end.
Robbie Brown was next to be yellow carded by referee Logan after downing Sinclair in the middle of the park.
Mike Rae pulled off a blinding save to deny Barrie Stephen his eighteenth of the season when he through himself across his goal to divert Stephen's header wide after namesake Levi's freekick had been flicked-on by Scott Anderson to the far post.
Vale hit the woodwork for the third game running when Barrie Stephen ran onto a Mike McKenzie through ball and knocked it past the advancing Michael Rae only for the ball to cannon off the foot of the post, but lady-luck shone on the Banff side this week and as the ball came back into play Jamie WATT showed his predator instinct to side-foot the rebound into the net from 12-yards.
Rae then spilled a McKenzie drive from distance only to deny Barrie Stephen yet again when he somehow knocked the ball out of the reach of the winger as he looked to pounce on the loose ball.
Barrie Stephen, who was now starting to show signs of his startling recent form, saw his volley hit the net rigging behind the goal with Rae beaten all ends up as Vale started to apply relenting pressure on the visiting defence.
Vale sowed up all three points with a third minutes later when Jamie Watt was hauled down on the edge of the Nairn penalty area. Mike McKenzie's fiercely struck free kick went through the defensive wall only for Rae to block with his legs but as the loose ball rebounded Paul URQUHART was in the right place at the right time to prod the ball into the unguarded net from 12-yards and secure victory for his side.
Steve Sanderson replaced Mark Holmes but his stay was short lived when he saw red after less than two minutes on the field of play for foul language to one of the assistant referees leaving his side with only ten men for the remainder of the match.
Barron headed over following a corner before Barrie Stephen wasted a great opportunity to keep his impressive scoring run going. Mike McKenzie and Jamie Watt carved open the Wee County defence before setting up the number seven but he blasted well over form inside the penalty box when he really should have done better.
McKenzie then unselfishly set up Jamie Watt for his hat trick but Rae saved Watt's looping header from right under his crossbar. Kellacher had a great chance to score a consolation for the Station Park side but screwed wide from a decent position before being replaced by Duncanson.
Bremner had to look alert to save from Barron's cheeky chip from the edge of the area but the big man between the sticks, who had looking comfortable all afternoon, collected the ball with relative ease.
With three minutes remaining Rae thwarted McKenzie once more when he effortlessly palmed away the striker's close range effort after substitute Darren McAllister had set up the lanky striker.
The last chance of the match fell to the hard-working McKenzie but after drawing clear of two or three defenders he dinked the ball over the top from 16-yards.
To cap a fine afternoon for Vale, two-goal hero Jamie Watt was awarded the sponsor's man-of-the-match.

Three points and a pleasing way to end a very successful year for Gregg Carrol was emphasised by the Vale boss when he said, "I'm delighted to get a home win under our belts after losing our last two here and although we looked shaky for the first half hour or so once we got our noses in front I was in no doubt that we would pick up all three points. It's also pleasing to see the freshness Jamie (Watt) has brought into the squad and his overall contribution to the team, he works extremely hard throughout and brings other players in with some good give and go play as well as showing us that he still knows the way to goal".
Carrol added "On the down side it looks as though we're going to be without Robbie Brown for the months of January and February as he has crossed the disciplinary points bracket and will probably be out for five or six games. It's a major blow for us but Levi (Stephen) and Paul (Urquhart) are playing well in there at present so we'll hopefully be able to cope in his absence".
Vale's next match is January the 3rd when they travel to Brora but they have a free Saturday the following week, which means only one competitive match over the next four-week period. To keep the players fresh Vale have organised a couple of friendlies against Inverness Caley (next Saturday) and Ross County (Monday week) in an effort to keep the boys sharp before the Christmas break.

Vale:
Bremner, #Pressley, Gray, #Brown (McAllister 79), #Dlugonski, Anderson, B. Stephen, L. Stephen, McKenzie, Watt, Urquhart (Kidd 87)

Subs not used: - Sharp, Campbell, Phimister (GK)
Nairn
Rae, MacMillan, #Smith, #D. MacDonald, C. MacLeod, Sinclair, Kellacher (Duncanson 81), #Seaton, Barron, Ewing (B. MacLeod 64), #Holmes (##Sanderson 64)

Subs not used: - Main, P. MacDonald


Referee: S.Logan