This was a keenly contested Coley Park derby and top of the table clash with two 100% records on the line that resulted in a captivating tussle.
 
Southbank created a number of good first half chances with Jason Cusworth, Jamie Foncette and Ricky Gale all missing clear opportunities, with Cusworth missing an open goal, but found themselves 1-0 down when Mark Maskell was adjudged to have handled a shot from the edge of the box to concede a well converted penalty.
 
The second half saw Vale take a 2-0 lead when a deep cross from Vale’s right left Jamie Steele in the Southbank goal stranded and the cross nestled right in the top corner.  Southbank again came from two goals behind when first Lee Thacker was rewarded for his hard work and capitalised on a mix up in the Vale defence before beating two men in the box and scoring Southbank’s first.  The equaliser followed with ten minutes remaining when Jason Cusworth made up for his earlier miss with an early candidate for goal of the season.  A deep cross by Chris Snowdon on the right picked out Cusworth running in on the far side and he hit an unstoppable volley on the run from 15 yards to draw The Bank level.
 
With both sides pushing for the win Cusworth narrowly missed out on giving Southbank all 3 points with another rasping effort.  In the end it was Vale that came out on top, when a well worked move ended with a well struck effort leaving Steele with no chance in the Southbank goal.
 
Although we lost it was an excellent team performance and bodes well for the rest of the season.

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Budda's Man of the Match: Lee Thacker