Port Vale reach League Cup Quarter Final for the first time in 147 years
Port Vale have reached the League Cup Quarter Final for the first time in their 147 year history.
The last time that Vale made it to the fourth round of the competition they lost to Premier League side Tottenham in extra time in 2006.
However, they made no mistake this time, keeping their Wembley dreams alive.
For Mansfield, they have made the last eight of this competition before, but before a lot of fans would remember, all the way back in 1975 when they lost to Manchester City.
Port Vale, despite being in a higher league, almost came into the match as underdogs due to their poor league form, picking up just 1 point in their last 5 games and sitting 16th in League One.
Mansfield, on the other hand, were on a 19 game unbeaten run in all competitions before the Valiants turned up.
In what was a scrappy first-half affair, Vale continued to apply pressure from the offset, despite being the away side.
It took 50 minutes for Vale to cement their dominance, with on-loan Tottenham Hotspur striker Alfie Devine's long-range effort nestling into the bottom right corner.
However, Mansfield didn't give up without a fight, as Nigel Clough turned to his bench just after an hour and made a triple change.
But as the fog descended onto Field Mill, Clough's chances of a League Cup quarter final slowly turned to mist.
It was becoming more and more clear that Port Vale were causing Mansfield a Halloween night scare.
As the full time whistle went, Vale had come back to haunt Mansfield once again, a year after beating them 3-0 in the League Two play-offs in 2022.
In the battle of the East and West Midlands, this time the West came on top, with just one goal enough to separate the two sides.
Vale can hold their heads high as the first team to beat Mansfield all season, and for the first time ever they can call themselves League Cup Quarter finalists.
Speaking to Port Vale, goalscorer Alfie Devine said:
"From the first minute, even in the warm up we felt them. I thought they were absolutely brilliant. They gave us a 12th man to be honest. I think especially towards the end of the second half, they got us through".
Manager Andy Crosby said: "It feels incredible, it's a reward for everyone connected for the football club".
"For us to get to the last eight of the Carabao cup is an amazing achievement. It was well deserved".
Going forward, Port Vale's draw will be an interesting one, as they are the only team in the whole of the West Midlands left in the competition.
In terms of who they will play next, they could play Manchester United, Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and others. The draw for the next round is tonight after the other League Cup fourth round games have concluded.
For Mansfield, they will be hoping to put their woes behind them in time for another cup tie against Wrexham on Saturday 4th November, this time in the FA Cup.
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