The Spring sunshine peeped through low cloud, warming the rich, verdant sportscape of Powder House Lane. A full house of past players were in attendance to add to the occasion, but the final home fixture of this season was quite enough to made the day special. Add the announcement of Andy Powers' final home match for the team before retiring, and the day was set to be a classic.

It had been honours-even when these two sides met in the Autumn, and it was the Vale who had fared better since. Burnage showed no respect for the form book as they tested the Vale's defences repeatedly. A fumbled catch allowed Burnage a platform on the Vale twenty-two metre line, from which their winger came in from the right to score under the posts. Vale replied soon after from a lofted kick by Damon Hall, into the hands of his opposite winger Ryan Busby to score.

Burnage worked doggedly in midfield, earning two penalties in kicking range, which found their target. Personnel changes by Vale saw Ben Keenan and Ross Pillow enter the arena to bolster the forward effort. Returning Vale scrum half Billy Swarbrick made a sharp break through the Burnage line, setting up Hall to score in the corner to claim a lead for the first time in the match. Vale were down a man when Ross Pillow was shown yellow for impeding play illegally. Burnage made their advantage pay with their second try. The final seconds of the half saw Hall jink through the hapless defenders to score his second to the left of the posts, bringing the tally to a tantalising 19 - 20 to the visitors.

From the restart, Burnage replicated Hall's earlier move with a high ball into space in the dead ball area. A fortunate bounce allowed Burnage No 8 Chris Jones to extend their lead. No sooner was Pillow restored to the campaign, centre Alfie Bolton took his place on the bench for a high tackle. Campbell Murrell came onto the Vale wing to great effect. He marked Bolton's return with a power sprint and dream pass to Bolton to score. Murrell gathered a loose ball and turned it into a burst for the tryline. Eddie Abdelghafar added the crucial touch.

The final quarter of the game was a free-for-all, with tries raining in from both sides every two minutes. Vale captain Jack Ayrton earned one of them, and the forceful Abdelghafar crossed the line again with the high energy he had sustained throughout. He was dubbed Man-of-the-match, among many worthy candidates. A rest weekend follows, then the Vale's final NW2 fixture of the 24/25 season away at Northwich on the 5th of April. Kick off at 3pm.

Team: A. Fowler, A. Powers, M. Mount, H. Fellows, J. Sutcliffe, K. Pickup, H. Dokter, J. Ayrton (c), B. Swarbrick, A. Briggs, D. Hall, A. Bolton, E. Abdelghafar, R. Busby, C. Ramwell, Reps: B. Keenan, R. Pillow, C. Murrell.

(Pictured: Vale's Eddie Abdelghafar. Photo by Tony North.)