Port Vale gave their slim survival chances a boost with a battling 1-0 win over promotion-chasing Bolton.
George Hall’s first-half strike was enough to secure just a third home victory of the season to leave the Valiants 11 points adrift of 20th place with 10 games to go.
Bolton defender Eoin Toal failed to get a shot away after getting the ball stuck between his feet in the opening seconds while Kyle Dempsey was off target with a dipping free-kick on six minutes.
Jordi Osei-Tutu saw a soft shot comfortably saved by Joe Gauci midway through the half as Bolton pressed for the opener.
But the deadlock was broken 11 minutes before half-time when Hall latched onto Jaheim Headley’s ball and fired home.
Xavier Simons blazed over from the edge of the box just before half-time for Bolton.
Ben Garrity was just over before Martin Sherif saw two shots blocked as Vale pushed hard for a second.
Headley fired a shot wide after finding space down the left on 70 minutes and Ben Wain saw his effort saved deep into stoppage time as the cup kings held their nerve.
Match report supplied by PA Media