Port Vale off foot of League One table after goalless draw against Barnsley

Port Vale dragged themselves off the foot of the League One table with a goalless draw against Barnsley.

Former Barnsley stopper Joe Gauci was the hero as he kept out Adam Phillips’ second-half penalty at Vale Park.

Jon Brady’s strugglers still have a mathematic chance of staying up, but are a whopping 15 points off safety with just six games to go.

It was a terrible opening half as neither side created any meaningful chances.

Scott Banks saw a tame effort easily held by Gauci.

After the break, Rhys Walters saw his well-struck effort kept out by a fantastic save from Owen Goodman.

Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel felled Vimal Yoganathan in the box, but Gauci expertly denied Phillips’ spot-kick on the hour.

Tom Bradshaw, who missed a header in the first half, nodded another chance over the bar in the final 15 minutes.

The January recruit almost stole the points in stoppage time but saw his header denied by a great Gauci reflex stop as the spoils were shared.