Port Vale moved to within three points of League Two leaders Gillingham with an emphatic win over Oxford United on Monday night.
Tom Pope opened the scoring in the first half with his 11th goal in nine games, before Ashley Vincent and Sam Morsy put the result beyond any doubt after the break at Vale Park.
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Pope hit the crossbar and was denied by a fine Ryan Clarke save early in the game, as Vale stormed out of the blocks.
The breakthrough came on 30 minutes when the 27-year-old forward tapped home from close range, after Ashley Williams's shot had been parried by the frequently-exposed Clarke.
Vincent doubled the hosts' lead six minutes into the second half with an audacious effort from an extremely narrow angle.
Morsy was a little fortunate to remain on the pitch when his poorly-timed tackle on Jake Forster-Caskey was punished with only a yellow card just before the hour-mark.
However, the combative midfielder regained his composure and completed the scoring moments later with a stunning 25-yard strike.
Robert Summerscales
