Port Vale 1-0 Bolton
Saturday 21 March 2026 18:59, UK
Port Vale gave their slim survival chances a boost with a battling 1-0 win over promotion-chasing Bolton.
George Hall's first-half strike was enough to secure just a third home victory of the season to leave the Valiants 11 points adrift of 20th place with 10 games to go.
Bolton defender Eoin Toal failed to get a shot away after getting the ball stuck between his feet in the opening seconds while Kyle Dempsey was off target with a dipping free-kick on six minutes.
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Jordi Osei-Tutu saw a soft shot comfortably saved by Joe Gauci midway through the half as Bolton pressed for the opener.
But the deadlock was broken 11 minutes before half-time when Hall latched onto Jaheim Headley's ball and fired home.
Xavier Simons blazed over from the edge of the box just before half-time for Bolton.
Ben Garrity was just over before Martin Sherif saw two shots blocked as Vale pushed hard for a second.
Headley fired a shot wide after finding space down the left on 70 minutes and Ben Wain saw his effort saved deep into stoppage time as the cup kings held their nerve.
