Southend 0-0 Port Vale
- Published
Neither side could break the deadlock as Southend and Port Vale played out an entertaining goalless draw.
Vale had goalkeeper Chris Neal to thank after he twice denied Shrimpers forward Gavin Tomlin in the first half.
Tomlin also hit the woodwork twice for the hosts as his side looked the more likely to score the opening goal.
However, Vale could have won it late on but Paul Smith denied Vincent before Tom Pope's rebound was blocked by Mark Phillips to keep it level.
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Southend United manager Paul Sturrock told BBC Essex:
"They started very well, they had a couple of half chances. As the first half unfolded, I think we started to dominate. Their goalie had four or five decent saves.
Sturrock rues missed opportunites
"The second half was pretty even until the last 20 minutes when we kind of got on top and we had several half chances we should have done better with.
"It was frustrating as a manager to watch how open the game was, but it's a clean sheet, if you look at it that way.
"The only thing missing today was the final finish. We've created a lot of chances, played some decent football and we've come up against a decent team. I'm disappointed."