Summary

  • Port Vale into League Two play-off final after beating Swindon Town 6-5 on penalties

  • Swindon had leg Vale 2-1 from first leg on Sunday

  • James Wilson's early goal for Vale levelled tie on aggregate

  • Vale boss Darrell Clarke sent off in extra time following fracas on touchline

  • Vale come back after missing two of first three penalties

  • Vale will play Mansfield in play-off final at Wembley on 28 May

  • Get involved at #bbcefl

  1. Postpublished at 19:43 British Summer Time 19 May 2022

    Port Vale v Swindon Town (agg 1-2) - 19:45 BST

    Ged Scott
    BBC Sport at Vale Park

    There’s a tremendous atmosphere here in this gorgeous early summer’s evening in Burslem.

    There’s over 11,000 in. The biggest gate of the season, except for when Vale fan Robbie Williams comes later this summer.

    But the crowd are in great voice, singing along to some classic old pop favourites.

    The teams are due. But not before Elvis has belted out The Wonder Of You!

  2. Garner says Swindon can 'play better'published at 19:41 British Summer Time 19 May 2022

    Port Vale v Swindon Town (Agg 1-2) 19:45 BST

    Swindon manager Ben GarnerImage source, Rex Features

    Swindon Town boss Ben Garner believes his side can "play a lot better" when they travel to Port Vale this evening for the second-leg of their League Two play-off semi-final.

    The Robins take a 2-1 victory to Vale Park as they look for an immediate return to League One after being relegated from the division last season.

    "We can play a lot better than we did on Sunday, that's for sure," Garner told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

    "I thought our commitment, our defending, our intensity, we looked a threat but we can play a lot lot better with the ball and I would expect that to be the case on Thursday."

    Swindon finished sixth in the League Two table, one place and one point below opponents Port Vale.

    The Robins, however, enjoy the title of being the most prolific scoring team in the league with their 77 goals more than any other club.

    Harry McKirdy is responsible for the most shots of any player, having taken 109 attempts at goal across 36 matches.

    And lastly, Swindon also have the best away record in League Two.

  3. Clarke expects more from playerspublished at 19:39 British Summer Time 19 May 2022

    Port Vale v Swindon Town (Agg 1-2) 19:45 BST

    Port Vale manager Darrell ClarkeImage source, Rex Features

    Hosts Port Vale need to overturn a 2-1 deficit tonight if they want to make it to Wembley a week on Saturday.

    Vale are in the play-offs for the first time since 1993 and are looking to return to League One after a four-season stay in the fourth tier.

    The club spent large parts of this season in the automatic promotion places with an excellent run between January and April taking them up to third.

    But three defeats in a row in their last five matches of the season saw them fall into the play-off places.

    Manager Darrell Clarke has called on his players to be better with and without the ball when they line up against Swindon for a second time.

    "I said to them after them after the game, I feel that there's been a hell of a lot of games this season that we've turned up without the ball," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "I think the effort, the commitment, the desire has been absolutely first-class all season but I'll always expect better with the ball, with the movements, with the angles we make and players to take more responsibility with the ball."

  4. Team newspublished at 19:36 British Summer Time 19 May 2022

    Port Vale v Swindon Town (Agg 1-2) 19:45 BST

    Darrell Clarke has made three changes to his starting XI for the match tonight, but sticks with the same 3-4-1-2 formation.

    Striker Kian Harratt - on loan from Huddersfield - starts up front alongside James Wilson with Jake Taylor and Mal Benning coming into the midfield.

    Aaron Martin, Harry Charsley and Ryan Edmondson all drop down to the bench. Top scorer Jamie Proctor drops out of the squad altogether.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post

    Ben Garner, meanwhile, sticks with the exact same team from Sunday's victory and a familiar 4-3-3 formation.

    Harry McKirdy, Josh Davison and Louie Barry remain the trio up front.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2
  5. The story so far...published at 19:33 British Summer Time 19 May 2022

    Harry McKirdy celebrates his goal for Swindon against Port ValeImage source, Rex Features

    Here's where we stand after the first leg of the tie last weekend.

    Swindon's top scorer Harry McKirdy scored twice - taking his season tally to 23 goals - as his side secured a 2-1 win in front of their home fans at the County Ground.

    But James Wilson kept his side in touch with what could prove to be a crucial goal for Port Vale seven minutes from time.

    Whoever comes out on top after tonight will face Nigel Clough's Mansfield in the final at Wembley on Saturday 28 May, after they beat Northampton Town on aggregate 3-1 last night.

  6. Hello and welcomepublished at 19:30 British Summer Time 19 May 2022

    Vale Park, Port ValeImage source, Rex Features

    Good evening and welcome to another huge evening of action from the League Two play-off semi-finals.

    Tonight we're at Vale Park for the second leg of Port Vale v Swindon Town.

    Visitors Swindon are in the driving seat following their 2-1 victory in the first leg on Sunday.