Port Vale were left to rue a poor start to their match against promotion-chasing Cheltenham Town at the weekend. 

Vale found themselves 2-0 down at the break after goals from Alfie May and an own goal from Scott Brown. Liam Sercombe then made it 3-0 with 15 minutes remaining, which saw the home side well in the ascendancy on the day.

But Port Vale fought their way back into the game late on, with goals from Nottingham Forest loanee Will Swan and Alex Hurst, although those goals weren't quite enough for the visitors to pick up any points, as they fell to a 3-2 defeat.

The goal was Swan's first in his loan spell with the League Two side, after signing on loan from Nottingham Forest back in February 2021.

Swan has made two senior appearances for Nottingham Forest, but the club were clearly keen for him to find regular game time elsewhere, with Glenn Murray, Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor likely to be ahead of him in the pecking order in Chris Hughton's short-term plans.

Swan took to Instagram following the defeat, and was pleased to get his name on the scoresheet, and felt as though it'll be 'the first of many'.

Port Vale are currently sat 21st in the League Two table, but Swan and his team-mates will be hoping they can finish this year's campaign strongly, starting with a positive result against Oldham Athletic on Tuesday evening.

Whilst Nottingham Forest have struggled for any sort of momentum this term, with the Reds currently sat 17th in the Championship table, and hoping they can pull clear of the relegation zone at the earliest of opportunities.

Forest are set to take on promotion-chasing Reading in their next match, in what is likely to be a tricky test for the Reds at the City Ground.

 

 

The Verdict: 

He'll be keen to add to his tally heading towards the final few months of this year's campaign.

I think Swan will have already learned a considerable amount from his loan spell with Port Vale, in what is his first loan in the EFL.

If he can finish this year's campaign strongly with Port Vale, then I wouldn't rule out the youngster returning to Nottingham Forest this summer, and mounting a serious challenge for a place in Chris Hughton's starting XI.

He deserves to be given his chance if he can continue to impress whilst out on loan this term.