Fans of the frankly superb daytime quiz show ‘The Chase’ might have picked up on a recent question posed to a participant on what is the smallest city in England with two clubs in the Football League.
The answer, it so happens, is Stoke, with Championship side Stoke City and League Two outfit Port Vale technically falling under the same banner.
Those two local rivals, having had such contrasting fortunes in recent years, hadn’t met since 2002 when they clashed in Checkatrade Trophy action at Vale Park last night, although it was Stoke City’s u-23s that lined up.
The home side had the better of it, winning 4-0, but the Potters’ travelling support wasn’t content to leave without leaving a mark.
Videos that have emerged today show the staggering level of damage done by them in the away end, including in the toilets.
Staffordshire police deployed 150 officers to try and contain trouble but say a ‘significant’ level was still done.
Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones of that force, said:
"I would like to express my thanks to all the officers that helped us deliver a challenging policing operation. There was some despicable behaviour by a large number of fans, which has caused considerable damage to the away section of Vale Park.
"We are taking this very seriously and I expect there to be more arrests in the coming days as we examine CCTV coverage and gather evidence of the crimes committed.”
There have, reportedly, been 11 arrests made at this stage.
