There was very little between the two sides in the opening stages of the game in a strangely quiet Roots Hall stadium in which Vale fans were making most of the noise.

Vale's central defensive partnership of Luke Prosser and former skipper George Pilkington looked solid as the home side tried to go through the middle early on.

The home side ought to have taken the lead on 18 minutes however, when Revell found himself in space on the right flank and crossed towards the back post.

Hooper managed to get to the ball on the bye line and headed it back invitingly to Moussa, who somehow managed to miss the target from two yards out.

There was a mix-up on 20 minutes when Keith Lowe was receiving treatment off the pitch and it was announced a substitution was to take place.

With Vale physio John Bower signalling frantically that Lowe was fit to carry on, Vale withdrew substitute Ross Davidson from the pitch, but found it was too late and the substitution stood.

Three minutes later Vale got their noses in front after Kyle Perry was fouled just outside the area. Dave Mulligan lined up the free kick and curled a beauty into the top left corner of the net.

Revell fired narrowly over from a tight angle with Anyon at full stretch as the home side attempted to hit back, but Vale were seldom troubled by a side who had already booked their play-off place.

When Moussa managed to find a way through the middle of the Vale defence and threatened to shoot, in came Prosser with a perfectly timed sliding tackle take the ball away from him.

Perry picked up a yellow card in the 39^th minute after being warned a few minutes earlier following a string of fouls from the Vale player.

Whilst it wasn't exactly Vale's best performance away from Vale Park this season, it was nicely summed up by one of the local hacks in the press box just before half time as one of the best away performances this season in the red shirts.

In the first of two added minutes at the end of the half Vale could have doubled their advantage when Perry charged down an attempted clearance by former Vale loanee Peter Clarke.

The ball ran kindly for Marc Richards, who looked odds on to continue his recent scoring spree, but could only fire wide of Flahavan's right hand post.

At the start of the second half Paul Harsley's skipper's armband was handed over the George Pilkington for one last time as 'Mr Reliable' began his final forty-five minutes in a Vale shirt - or to be more precise, a Southend shirt.

The home side began to exert some pressure on the Vale without really finding the cutting edge necessary to give Anyon anything to do.

Vale were forced into a second change of the afternoon when Mulligan was hurt in a challenge and was stretchered off, giving Charlie O'Loughlin the chance to impress and prospective new employers.

Southend continued to push Vale onto the back foot, with Vale's front runners little more than spectators as the Shrimpers fought for an equalising goal.

A run down the left flank by Eckersley saw Richards meet his cross with a free header, but he was unable to guide his effort on target and play switched to the other end.

Pilkington went down inside Vale's 18 yard box and had to go off for treatment, but was soon able to resume his position in the heart of the Vale defence.

But the home side were on level terms when Anyon struggled to deal with a shot from Francis and Walker was on hand to fire home from close range with 85 minutes on the clock.

In fairness, it was no more than the Shrimpers deserved for an impressive second half performance.

With little more than a minute of normal time left Vale made their third change - Danny Glover making way for a first team debut for Luke Chapman.

Southend: Darryl Flahavan, Simon Francis, Peter Clarke, Adam Bennett, Alex Revell, Hal Robson-Kanu, Alan McCormack, Charlie Mulgrew, Gary Hooper, Franck Moussa, James Walker. Subs: Mark Gower, Charlie MacDonald, Steve Collis, Lee Barnard, Nick Bailey.

Port Vale: Joe Anyon, George Pilkington, Adam Eckersley, David Mulligan, Keith Lowe, Simon Richman, Kyle Perry, Marc Richards, Paul Harsley, Luke Prosser, Dany Glover. Subs: Charlie O'Loughlin, James Lawrie, Chris Slater, Ross Davidson, Luke Chapman.