Gregg Carrol celebrated two hundred and fifty competitive games in charge at Princess Royal Park with an emphatic victory over Rothes although in the manager's words the game was a very close contest until two quick Vale goals drained the spirit right out of the young battling Speysiders midway through the second forty-five.
Carrol said, "because we came in at the interval with just the one goal cushion, after Mikee (McKenzie) had missed from the spot, it made for a nervy period at the start of the second half but when Mikee and Jamie notched two goals in the space of a minute it seemed to knock the stuffing out of them and we never really looked back after that. To be honest if we had scored the pen I doubt we would have knocked in the barrow-load of goals but it's worth an additional point come the end of the season so I'm delighted.
I'm also pleased for Jamie to finally notch his one hundredth goal for the club and I thought Mike McKenzie's chip for the sixth was a peach".
An improving Rothes had travelled to Banff in high spirits with a credible but narrow defeat at the hands of Buckie Thistle last weekend and new signings, Kerr Gibson (on loan from Keith) and Brian Whitlock (captured during the week from Strathspey Thistle) in their team lines as they looked to upset the league leaders and with Ian Murray an absentee for the Banffers Gordon Winton and Brian Thompson may just have fancied their chances of pulling off a major shock.

George Massie tested James Blanchard with a low strike from 25-yards just as a reminder that the game was not yet out of reach of the Speysiders although if Mike McKenzie's dipping effort moments later from way out on the left hadn't got the slightest of touches from the Rothes keeper it would have been a third goal for the league leaders rather than the ball coming back off the back post before being cleared.
Michael Ewen, just as he had done when the sides met at MacKessock Park earlier in the season, fired an unstoppable strike past the helpless James Blanchard from 22-yards after the homesters had given the ball away rather cheaply in the middle of the park.

The goal gave the visitors a huge lift and they forced a nervy moment five minutes later deep inside the Vale penalty area when the ball bounced about dangerously before referee George blew for a freekick in the homeside's favour.
Blanchard then saved low to his right following a deep freekick, which was flicked on by Gary Wood as the Speysiders continued to knock the ball about with their newfound confidence.
Bryan Dlugonski had a volley charged down by the hand of a Rothes defender in the penalty box but the referee was right on cue to rightly wave play on for ball to hand rather than the opposite way around.
Vale were however awarded a spot kick a minute before the break when Jamie Watt was crudely tackled from behind by George Massie but Mike McKenzie's effort cannoned back off the foot of the post before Paul Urquhart volleyed the rebound wide.

Vale were now in full flight and Jamie WATT made it one-hundred goals for the Banffers when he latched onto a low-driven cross from Ross McWilliam to divert it high into the net from his favourite position; the six-yard box!
Mark CHISHOLM got into the act four minutes later when he let fly from the 25-yards and although Stuart McKenzie seemed to have the low strike covered he hadn't taken into account the inadvertent boot of Darren Kelly whose intervention saw the ball trundle past the helpless keeper and into the opposite corner. Graeme Watt, who had earlier replaced Paul Urquhart drove at the hard-worked Rothes defence before picking out Jamie Watt but the goal hungry striker just failed to complete his hat trick when his effort flashed just past the upright.

Weather permitting Vale's next match is away at Fort William on Saturday, the bottom of the table side who thus far have failed to win a single league match this season.