Jon Brady tasted victory on his return to Sixfields as bottom-of-the-table Port Vale beat his former club Northampton 1-0. Brady was Northampton boss from 2021 to 2024, and he watched Jayden Stockley score the only goal of the game in first-half stoppage time to keep Vale's slim survival hopes alive.
This was a meeting of the two lowest scorers in League One, so it should have been no surprise that the first half was low on both quality and goalmouth action. Yet it was the visitors who found the breakthrough just before the interval and held on for a vital three points.
A Cagey Contest Between the Division's Bluntest Attacks
Clear opportunities were at a premium in the opening period. Elliott Moore blocked well from Martin Sherif, while Northampton's best moment in attack saw Sam Hoskins glance wide from Nesta Guinness-Walker's cross.