Port Vale give slim survival chances a lift with victory over Bolton

Port Vale gave their slim survival chances a boost with a battling 1-0 win over promotion-chasing Bolton.

George Hall’s first-half strike was enough to secure just a third home victory of the season to leave the Valiants 11 points adrift of 20th place with 10 games to go.

Bolton defender Eoin Toal failed to get a shot away after getting the ball stuck between his feet in the opening seconds while Kyle Dempsey was off target with a dipping free-kick on six minutes.

Jordi Osei-Tutu saw a soft shot comfortably saved by Joe Gauci midway through the half as Bolton pressed for the opener.

But the deadlock was broken 11 minutes before half-time when Hall latched onto Jaheim Headley’s ball and fired home.

Xavier Simons blazed over from the edge of the box just before half-time for Bolton.

Ben Garrity was just over before Martin Sherif saw two shots blocked as Vale pushed hard for a second.

Headley fired a shot wide after finding space down the left on 70 minutes and Ben Wain saw his effort saved deep into stoppage time as the cup kings held their nerve.