Craig Hignett sent to stands as Port Vale ease past Hartlepool in FA Cup
Port Vale secured a spot in the third round of the FA Cup as they ran out comfortable 4-0 winners against Sky Bet League Two Hartlepool at Vale Park.
An own goal from Jake Carroll, sandwiched between strikes from Rigino Cicilia and Alex Jones put Vale well ahead at the break before Ryan Taylor's second-half penalty sealed a convincing victory.
Hartlepool's misery was compounded when manager Craig Hignett was sent to the stands on the stroke of half-time after taking issue with an alleged stamp by Kiko on Michael Woods.
The home side needed just 12 minutes to take the lead when Cicilia neatly controlled Paulo Tavares' low cross in the six-yard box and fired past goalkeeper Trevor Carson.
Vale doubled their advantage just two minutes later as Carroll inadvertently diverted Kiko's cross past his own keeper.
Jones then got on the scoresheet after 31 minutes, slotting into the bottom corner after latching onto Tavares' through-ball.
Taylor had the final say in the 56th minute when he smashed home from the penalty spot after Rob Jones bundled Nathan Smith to the ground.
Source : PA
Source: PA