Pope at the double again

Tom Pope netted twice for the second successive game to guide Port Vale to an easy 4-1 victory against Yeovil.

The talismanic striker, who bagged a brace in the midweek loss to Preston, took his tally to nine in 15 games as Vale ran out comfortable winners. The visitors made a bright start and Simon Gillett was inches off target with a 20-yard shot in the sixth minute. But the in-form Pope netted in the 18th and 29th minutes to put Vale firmly in the driving seat. Pope opened the scoring when he buried a six-yard header low inside Jake Kean's left-hand post from Mark Marshall's left-wing cross. And he then steered a right-foot shot from six yards low inside the opposite corner after a ragged Yeovil defence failed to clear Chris Lines' corner. Vale were in the comfort zone from then on and it was no surprise when Lines added a third two minutes after the interval. Marshall rolled in a cross after sprinting down the left and the onrushing Lines placed a right-foot shot from six yards inside Kean's right-hand post. Yeovil substitute Kieffer Moore went close with a header, but Marshall, Pope and Colin Daniel all wasted gilt-edged chances to add to Vale's tally. Vale still failed to keep their first clean sheet of the season, however, as Aaron Martin drove a 14-yard shot past Chris Neal four minutes from time. But substitute Daniel raced clear to slide a low shot under the advancing Kean for the home side's fourth goal in the 90th minute.