Walsall claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Port Vale to leapfrog their opponents at the top of Sky Bet League Two.

Jamille Matt scored the decisive goal early in the second half as the Saddlers moved two points clear of Vale with a game in hand.

Victory extends their unbeaten league run to nine matches and inflicts only a second defeat in 15 outings on the Valiants.

The first-half was largely uneventful as the players battled to get to grips with the extremely blustery conditions.

Rekeem Harper produced the most notable spark for Vale when his long-range drive deflected wide early on, while Ryan Stirk’s shot down the other end diverted just off target shortly after the half-hour mark.

The game finally sprung into life, though, in the 51st minute as Walsall captain Matt put his side in front with his sixth goal of the season.

Taylor Allen’s corner found its way to the striker and, despite his effort being well saved by Connor Ripley, the ball looped up in the air and dropped into the net.

Nathan Lowe forced a good stop out of Ripley five minutes later as the visitors threatened to double their lead.

Vale substitute Jayden Stockley had an attempt blocked on the line as the clock ran down and the conditions worsened, but the hosts were unable to find an equaliser and thus surrendered their place at the summit.