Stuart Wardley's minor goal famine is over, but there was no return to winning ways for Rangers at Vale Park. Wardley pounced to earn Rangers a point after Martin Bullock's 27th minute goal put Port Vale in front.

Along with Chris Kiwomya and substitute Sammy Koejoe, Wardley might have scored a late winner but couldn't find a way past goalkeeper Paul Musslewhite. Bullock's opener was arguably against the run of play as Rangers looked dangerous in the opening stages.

Twice in the first eight minutes good work by Langley put the Vale defence on the back foot. First a Rangers counter-attack gathered momentum when Langley found Slade with a cross-field ball, but Slade's pass played Peacock into trouble and a promising move broke down on the edge of the box.

Moments later, Langley's chipped cross to the far post almost found an unmarked Wardley, but Wardley just failed to keep the ball in play. Wardley was again in space when picked out by Darlington's 16th minute cross from the right, but his weak header was easily collected by Musslewhite.

On 21 minutes, Baraclough had to be quick off the mark to deny Bullock a great chance to open the scoring before he eventually did. The Vale midfielder exchanged passes with Talbot before Baraclough's sliding challenge cut short his burst into the Rangers penalty area. Baraclough was entitled to take some credit for rescuing Rangers - and Langley in particular - six minutes later.

With all his outfield team-mates in the Vale half, Langley's attempted a suicidal header back to Harper which was never likely to reach him, allowing Minton a clear run on goal. Baraclough sprinted across and his pressure contributed to Minton firing wide of the target, although the striker should undoubtedly have scored.

But Vale had to wait little more than a minute to edge ahead. This time Baraclough wasn't on hand to deal with another intelligent run into the box by Bullock, who stroked the ball past Harper with ease. Rose failed in his attempt to clear off the line and could only help the ball into the net.

But Rangers struck back with a bizarre goal 8 eight minutes before the interval. Langley found himself one-on-one with Musslewhite but saw his shot blocked by the Vale 'keeper. From the rebound, Peacock seemed sure to score but his effort was cleared off the line. The ball fell to Langley who looked just as certain to equalise but was also denied by a goal-line clearance. Wardley however would not take no for an answer, and finally settled the matter by firing home his 13th goal of the season.

Rangers came close to taking the lead in the last minute of the half. Baraclough's rasping shot beat Musslewhite and flew just over the bar. Port Vale went close with a long range effort of their own early in the second-half. Gareth Taylor caught Harper napping with a dipping 25-yard shot that just cleared the crossbar. Harper felt far more comfortable in claiming a powerless header from Dave Brammer. Home favourite Tony Rougier was introduced to the action and Harper was down quickly to gather his shot in the 69th minute.

Gerry Francis made a switch with 14 minutes remaining. Keith Rowland and Sammy Koejoe replaced Langley and the disappointing Slade. Both teams came close to finding a late winner. The impressive Bullock drifted in from the left and his right-footed shot brought a parry from Harper, which would have left Rougier with the goal at his mercy had Rose not reacted quickly to blast the ball away.

After a largely unproductive second-half, Rangers had no less than three excellent chances to score in the final five minutes. Darlington's cross was met by a trademark Wardley arrival at the far post. Musslewhite's excellent stop from the Rangers midfielder denied Wardley yet another goal.

Then Musslewhite produced another great save. This time Wardley crossed from the right and from Peacock's far post header Kiwomya pounced but saw his close-range shot saved. In injury time, Darlington's cross found Koejoe in what looked like an offside position. The flag stayed down, but Musslewhite stooped to save Koejoe's header.