Port Vale 2-1 Shrewsbury – Lewis Cox's player ratings

It was victory for the former Town boss over current incumbent Sam Ricketts despite the visitors having the lead as two second-half goals for the home side – the first of which came from a penalty that never was – earned them the win.

Shrews reporter Lewis Cox rates the performances of a Town side featuring six changes.

Joe Murphy - A second start for Town and will be disappointed he was unable to keep a clean sheet but had no chance with either Vale goal. That aside he handle crosses very well but had some poor distribution. 6

Brad Walker - A strange choice in a very unfamiliar position at in central defence but can be pleased with his night. Never truly got at from a Vale point of view and he used his height to win headers. Went close twice late on. 6

Ethan Ebanks-Landell - Led Town with the captain's armband as the only available centre-half in the team and got the better of the experienced Tom Pope. Defended manfully and deserves praise in the heart of what was an alien backline. 7

Donald Love - Moved from his usual right wing-back role to an unfamiliar left centre-half in the back three but you wouldn't know it was different for the impressive defender. Looked impeccable at times. Very unfortunate with conceding the penalty, which was a fine tackle. 7

Ryan Barnett - Had a pretty good evening. Took him a while to get at the home left-back but then got into his stride. Launched the move that created the goal with lightning quick feet. Even when Shrews were poor later he was a willing runner down the right and put good deliveries in. 6

Josh Laurent - Like most of his team-mates, Laurent had an extremely good first half. At the break he was up there with Town's best performers and had been central to most moves with very good forward runs. Unfortunate hitting the bar before the own goal. But went quiet after the break. 6

Sean Goss - A very gifted player. Some of the passes he was launching around Vale Park were right out of the top drawer. There were a couple of corkers. He did get sloppy and give a few poor ones away. But a lot of good signs, mostly before the break. 6

Louis Thompson - A first Shrewsbury start for the on-loan Norwich man and he showed more of that immense running power we have seen in his substitute cameos. Possesses real power and energy and looks useful on the ball. Tired in his first hour in a while before coming off. 6

Scott Golbourne - Town's best player on the evening alongside fellow defender Love. The ex-Wolves man looked fit and sharp which was impressive given rehab to his knee over the summer. He got forward very well. 7

Shaun Whalley - Didn't seem entirely his usual self. There was still a spark about Whalley around the ball as per his style but things were not quite coming off and he was quieter than normal. Dropped deep but was frustrated. 5

Daniel Udoh - A first Shrewsbury start for the summer signing from AFC Telford and he can be reasonably pleased, particularly to get 90 minutes under his belt. Some very good hold up play throughout, especially in the first period. Didn't have too many sniffs at goal and was well marshalled at times. 6

Subs:

Luke McCormick (Thompson, 59) - A willing runner with a couple of jinking runs forward but Vale defended him well. 5

Steve Morison (Love, 84) - Won a couple of strong headers in the Vale box to cause some panic late on. N/A

Subs not used: O'Leary, Ward, Taylor, Rowland, Edwards.