Accrington Stanley were no match for Port Vale, who breezed past the Lancastrian side like a hot knife through butter...in a manner of speaking.
Stanley hadn't conceded away all season. But then Stanley hadn't scored away all season (yes, three 0-0 draws, which had left them 6th). So when Marc Richards volleyed his 6th goal of the season into the top left corner on 31 minutes, it didn't look likely that Stanley were coming back.
Mind you, most of the other clubs towards the top of the league were into double figures of home goals, whereas before this game Vale had only scored 3. So it came as some surprise to the 5,777 supporters when Vale doubled their lead on 81 minutes - a great run by substitute Jemal Johnson down the left to set up substitute Louis Dodds on the far side to slot home.
No time to be cocky - top side Vale play 2nd place Shrewsbury on Tuesday.