Cardiff City were fortunate to escape with a point after being thoroughly outplayed in Thursday's goalless draw at Port Vale in League One. Darren Moore's hosts overpowered their opponents physically and created a host of chances but could not find a way past Bluebirds debutant goalkeeper Nathan Trott.
Despite the muted display, the draw took Brian Barry-Murphy's side to the top of the fledgling third-tier table. For Port Vale it was a first point against Cardiff for 31 years, but it came with the lingering regret of a missed first win of the new campaign.
A Reunion 22 Years in the Making
This was a first league meeting between the sides for 22 years, the last time Cardiff had been in the third tier. Even last season there were two divisions between them, but the gap disappeared when Vale won promotion from League Two and Cardiff came tumbling down from the Championship, where they had finished bottom.