Port Vale 0 - Wycombe 1 at Vale Park

Andy Rammell had expected to spend Saturday afternoon with his feet up serving a three-match ban but he ended scoring the goal which beat Port Vale.

He won his appeal against his ban on Monday and celebrated by scoring the goal which sunk Vale.

The striker, who cost £75,000 from Walsall last month, produced a moment of class to settle a game that Wanderers would have won at a canter if the other players around him had shown his composure in front of goal.

Rammell picked up the ball on the edge of the box and then bided his time before picking his spot and lifting a shot into the far corner of the goal in the 21st minute.

It marked a real turnaround in the 33-year-old's fortunes. He began his Wanderers career by being sent off on his debut against Bristol Rovers for knocking out keeper Nick Culkin and was immediately saddled with a three-match ban.

But an FA panel cleared him on appeal after agreeing that he was trying to hurdle out of the keeper's way when his trailing leg accidentally caught the keeper on the side of the face.

It was a decision that under-fire Vale boss Brian Horton could live to regret as Rammell's strike signalled cries of Horton Out from the angry Valiants fans who haven't seen their side win in seven matches.

They staged a demonstration in the car park afterwards calling for Horton to resign.

Vale, relegated from the first division last season, were poor and if Wanderers had not been so wasteful with their finishing it could have been game over at half-time.

Vale's cause was not helped when they lost Sagi Burton injured after just nine minutes.

With him off the field, Wycombe made Vale look a shambles at the back. Jermaine McSporran might have punished them but he saw his shot come back off the bar when a cross might have been the better option.

It didn't matter though as four minutes later Rammell produced the game's defining moment to put Wanderers ahead.

But Vale, with their best moment, almost levelled a minute later when Ville Viljanen's header flashed wide.

They went closer still when Matthew Carragher's piledriver crashed off Jamie Bates.

But after that, and with the exception of a ten minute spell at the start of the second half before Wycombe changed their tactics, it was one way traffic.

Steve Brown smacked a shot against the crossbar and then McSporran hit the side netting with the goal at his mercy.

McSporran then went clean through again. His first shot was saved by keeper Mark Goodlad and then when the ball came back to McSporran, Goodlad produced a tremendous double save to deny him.

The keeper also foiled substitute Danny Senda in the second half saving with his legs as the youngster seemed certain to score while Andy Baird was twice brought down on the edge of the box as he went through on goal.

Rammell could also have added another but he was denied by a brilliant tackle.

Statistics:

Port Vale: Goodlad, Carragher, Walsh, Burton (Burns 9), Cummins, Viljanen (O'Callaghan 46), Naylor, Widdrington (Freeman 80), Beresford, Bridge-Wilkinson, Twiss. Subs not used: Delaney, Eyre. Goal attempts: 8 Corners: 3 Bookings: Burns 82

Wycombe: Taylor, Rogers, McCarthy, Bates, Vinnicombe, Bulman, Simpson, Brown (Lee 79), Harkin (Senda 60), McSporran (Baird 60), Rammell. Subs not used: Cousins, Castledine. Goal attempts: 13 Corners: 5 Attendance: 3,615 (Wycombe 377)