Here were two clubs who were staring at the prospect of relegation, victory was paramount and even then the path to safety is full of pitfalls as fixtures begin to run out. Bottom of North Two West, Tyldesley, were looking for their first win of the campaign and were facing the Vale of Lune on the back of a 90-point hammering at Chester in their last league outing.

If confidence was at a low ebb at St George's Park it hardly showed against the Vale as a much changed Tyldesley side – only six had played against the Vale at the end of October – competed until the final whistle.

But the pressure was a burden for both sides; this fixture had been highlighted as a must-win one by both clubs and throughout the game the spectre of defeat was never far away.

The omens of defeat affected the way the game unfolded, neither side was able to stretch away, so safety first became the order of the day. It was not pretty to watch, but it was pretty compelling all the same, in the way a 'Hammer Horror' film had people peeping from behind the settee.

A level of sympathy must be afforded to the players, who because of the circumstances were unable to play their natural game, nobody on duty wanted to make an error that could result in defeat.

The outcome means that the Vale live to fight another day, but one does not have to be a Mystic Meg to realise that this scenario is going to be repeated in the coming months, certainly until the yoke of relegation has been cast aside like an old boot.

It might even go down to the final game at Sandbach, relegation like promotion, in North Two West is far from being resolved.

Vale approached the trip to Tyldesley with confidence. They were able to select the same back division that had brought home the bacon against Leigh. Unfortunately, stand-off Neale Foster received a rib injury after 13 minutes from what looked suspiciously like a late tackle. The number ten remained on the field but his influence was not as great as it might have been, and while not a passenger, he tended to catch and pass more often than not.

Foster's play in the opening exchanges suggested he would play a pivotal role but his injury proved to be a handicap.

In the pack, Andrew Sutcliffe returned at prop, Dan Perry moved into the second row following Lee Acton's departure to Australia. The highly-promising Robert Mudd was drafted in for the vacant flanker berth for his third senior game. His speed around the field and tackling was prominent throughout, while his willowy frame gave the Vale another line-out option.

All the early signs suggested the Vale were going to make life difficult for Tyldesley. With Foster pulling the strings and Craig Orrick and Sutcliffe thrusting deep into Tyldesley territory, it came as no surprise that the Vale took the lead after five minutes with a penalty. The educated boot of Adam Armstrong repeated a feat he performed at Kirkby Lonsdale when his kick bisected two sets of uprights.
Vale's lead only lasted a couple of minutes when under pressure they conceded a penalty which stand-off Bryce Toohey kicked.

Almost immediately, the Vale had an opportunity to regain the lead but Armstrong's penalty drifted wide of the target. He made amends in the 17th minute when the flying James Hodder was unceremoniously taken out and from the resultant penalty, Armstrong guided the ball over.

Vale sensed that Tyldesley were beginning to wilt and increased the tempo but they were unable to create any clear-cut openings, and the longer the half went on, the more at ease the home side appeared against some rather predictable Vale attacks.

As often happens, the side that has been on the defensive for a long period somehow manages to gain a toehold in the game. A rare excursion forward by Tyldesley ended with the Vale being caught offside and Toohey's low flapping penalty clawed its way over the crossbar to level the scores.

This scoreline might have suited Tyldesley but not the Vale, who began the second half determined to put points on the board.

They battered at Tyldesley's defences in vain; they changed two thirds of their front row but still gaps refused to appear. Armstrong was just beaten to a touchdown but the longer the game went on the more it appeared to be heading towards the points being shared.

As the game moved into the closing 10 minutes, Tyldesley appeared to be tiring a little, in particular in the set-pieces, although it must be said that all scrums were untidy and messy.

Vale successfully shunted Tyldesley around; Owen Hughes was the first to react, snatching the ball away from the flailing boots. The scrum-half neatly slipped a pass to Orrick who blasted his way through the tacklers to touch down between the posts, Armstrong converted with nine minutes left.

The final minutes belonged to the Vale, who pressed Tyldesley deep in their own half.

Their lead had been hard earned, their play was disciplined they were not going to throw it away as they ran the clock down to record their first away league victory since February 2007,ironically at Tydesley.
A prestigious car company is currently running a series of advertisements in which a small voice ask the perennial question on a car journey, "Are we there yet, Dad?"

But because the ride has been so smooth and quick the destination has already been reached.

This is not the case for the Vale of Lune, they are not there yet, not by a long way; the rolling road still stretches before them and it will be a while before the soothing phrase "nearly there" can be heard at Powder House Lane.

Vale of Lune: A Armstrong; A Richards, A Garnett, C Orrick, J Hodder; N Foster, O Hughes; P Jackson (D Halliwell 52), D Schuyler (G Barton 52), A Sutcliffe; L Farnworth, D Perry; R Mudd, D Lin, M Fowler (capt).