JORDAN Cranston was sent off as the Shrimps suffered a 3-1 defeat at Vale Park.

The Shrimps had the lead through John O’Suliivan’s fine strike and looked the better side until Cranston was given a straight red card for a kick out at a Port Vale opponent in the 32nd minute.

The 10 men held on until the second half but once Port Vale levelled through Luke Joyce on 49 minutes they always looked the favourites to win the game.

Shrimps’ boss Jim Bentley made three changes to the starting line up from the game against Northampton with Adam Buxton, Tom Brewitt and A-Jay Leitch-Smith coming in for the injured Andrew Tutte, Luke Conlan and Shaun Miller with the latter dropping to the bench.

And the Shrimps started superbly with John O'Sullivan putting them ahead after 18 minutes as his fine 25-yard curling effort nestled in the top corner.

Barry Roche kept Morecambe ahead with a fine save to tip Luke Joyce's effort wife.

Vale cranked up the pressure after Cranston was dismissed 13 minutes before the break, with Jake Taylor forcing Roche into another good save and David Amoo heading wide.

Three minutes after the interval Joyce opened his Vale account in style with a thunderous effort from the edge of the box.

Roche pulled off his best save of the day to deny Pope's placed shot on the hour.

But with 20 minutes left the Shrimps' resistance was broken as Pope nodded in Worrall's cross at the back post.

And Pope doubled his tally a minute from time after beating his man and neatly firing past Roche.

Port Vale: Brown, Atkinson, Legge, Smith. Crookes, Amoo, Joyce, Burgess (rep Bennett 45), Taylor, Worrall, Pope. Subs not used: Kennedy, Browne, Lloyd, Brisley, Archer, Maddison.

Morecambe: Roche, Tanner, Old, Lavelle, Buxton, Kenyon, Brewitt (rep Howard 85), Cranston, O’Sullivan, Alessandra (rep Ellison 48), Leitch-Smith (rep Miller 76). Subs not used: Halstead, Stockton, Lynch, Brownsword,

Ref: C Breakspear.

Att: 4,485.