Additionally, Vale's counterattacks were ineffective as the two Staffordshire teams battled to a goalless stalemate that lacked quality.
The absence of skipper Udoka Godwin-Malife due to a minor ankle injury was a surprise to Burton fans.
Jack Armer returned from injury at left wing-back, Finn Delap entered the back three, and Jake Beesley captained the Brewers.
Mitch Clarks sent a long throw from the right into the Burton box in the first action in either goalmouth, but it was cleared in the third minute.
In the fifth minute, the ball fell easily to goalie Jordan Amissah after Lorent Tolaj was unable to get a flick on in the box.
Although Vale had gotten off to a better start, there wasn't much noteworthy activity in the early going. In the eleventh minute, Charlie Webster sent a deep free kick from the right.
Jasper Moon managed to reach it well past the far post, but he was only able to send it into goalkeeper Marko Marosi's arms. When Webster broke out of defence and was scythed down by Byers in the fifteenth minute, the game came alive.
Referee Scott Oldham gave a red card even though it appeared to be a certain yellow card. The challenge undoubtedly infuriated several Burton players, and there was a brief altercation between a handful on each team.
Back with the football, Burton had strong intentions, but they didn't execute well in the first twenty minutes.
Vale came close to helping them in the twenty-first minute when Fabio Tavares was almost brought on by Jesse Debrah's terrible back throw, but Marosi just got to the ball before him. Vale broke well a few seconds later, and Connor Hall missed the bar with a hard 20-yard shot.
In the 27th minute, a Burton corner on the left was set up by an excellent cross from Delap on the right. They performed a brief routine in an attempt to position Webster for a shot, but Vale saw the danger and blocked it. Webster blew this one high, and it ended in nothing. Another Delap cross led to another corner
Delap's subsequent cross found Beesley, who was unable to get over the ball with his header as Burton was now enjoying a period of dominance.
Marosi then had to dive to his left to stop the ball from sneaking in at his left-hand post after a Webster cross was missed by multiple players. After Vale had failed to clear multiple times, JJ McKiernan missed the next assault, but Delap was booked for pulling down Tolaj on Vale's left in the 35th minute, wasting the free kick.
Armer was strangely booked for diving in the 43rd minute after running towards the box and seemingly tripping while failing to complete a pass. Beesley was booked for a simple foul on Ryan Croasdale during the second of the two minutes of stoppage time that were announced. The half ended goalless, and the referee was not making a good impression on either group of fans.
Sebastian Revan, a recent addition to the team, took Delap's position for the second half. With Armer sliding to the left of the back three and Toby Sibbick to the right, he moved to left wing-back. In the 47th minute, Tolaj had a half-chance and missed a shot from 20 yards out. In the 48th minute, Burton had a free kick on the right, but Marosi had no trouble with Webster's strike.
After McKiernan lost possession of the ball with a misdirected pass in the 50th minute, Lofthouse was the next to be sent off, bringing back Liam Gordon. The game resumed in the 60th minute after a stoppage of almost eight minutes for medical attention to one of the Vale fans.
Both teams were still having trouble playing with any fluidity; someone had to work their magic, but in the 66th minute, Beesley headed a Lofthouse cross wide. When Burton was unable to find the finesse to work through them, Vale, unsurprisingly, had everyone behind the ball.
In the 70th minute, Revan created a beautiful cross from the left, giving them another opportunity, but Beesley's quick header missed the mark. In the 73rd minute, Ronan Curtis headed wide for Vale, and Ben Waine replaced him, signalling the end of his day.
In the 75th minute, Sibbick gave his team difficulties with a bad pass, but he made amends by coming back to stop Tolaj inside the box. In an attempt to give the Brewers additional spark up front, Julian Larsson and Tyrese Shade took Tavares and McKiernan's places in the 78th minute.
In the 81st minute, Lofthouse's cross from the right nearly found Shade past the far post. Marosi did a good job of pushing it away to his right for a corner after he chested it down and hit a shot.
In the eighty-seventh minute, Vale substituted Mo Faal and Kyle John for Tolaj and Gordon. Eleven minutes of stoppage time were indicated, but the game was still up for grabs.
For the majority of the game, Webster had been unable to find space to shoot, but in the 92nd minute, his attempt was deflected wide for a corner.
The supply of Revan was approved. Shade then escaped a Vale attack and saw Revan in the box, but he was stopped by a superb challenge. Amissah had to push Shade's wild sliced clearance out for a corner on the left, and Vale subsequently won another on the right.
Before Dylan Williams replaced Webster for Burton and Jordan Shipley replaced Funso Ojo for Vale, Vale continued to attack and Debrah missed a header in the 97th minute.
In the last moments, the visitors appeared to have the best chance of nicking it, but Clark took Larsson out close to the dugouts and was booked as he went down the right.
It seems like Gary Bowyer tried to speak up for him. Beesley injured himself while sending a header off target in the 103rd minute, limping back for the restart.
It was the final move in an annoying game. The Burton Mail publishes all of our Burton Albion news every day. A large portion of it is also available here:https://www.allsportnews.co.uk
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