VALE of Lune slipped to another North One league defeat but travelled back over the Pennines buoyed by an encouraging performance.

They may have lost 20-10 to Morley but Vale's display on the outskirts of Leeds lifted spirits.

Now they need to turn their confidence into wins as they aim to pull clear of the drop zone.

Vale landed in deepest Yorkshire to find the Scratcherd Lane pitch in heavy condition and the game got off to the worst possible start as they went behind in just the sixth minute.

It was the softest of tries as a misunderstanding behind the scrum allowed winger Simon Bradshaw to steal over the line.

It took Vale a few minutes to recover from the shock but they soon started to take the game to Morley - and after 23 minutes they went ahead when James Bryan crashed inside from the wing and started a thrilling attack that finished with Tyrone Sorour barging over the line for a try which Matt Jones converted.

But with seven minutes of the half remaining Gareth Darwen was shown a yellow card and former Welsh international Colin Stephens kicked Morley into a one-point lead from the resulting penalty.

Shortly after the break the Tykes went further ahead thanks to a Karl Bradshaw try following a powerful forward surge.

But the Vale soon got back into the game with Jones kicking another penalty after Morley's lock-forward Dave Sonia received a 10-minute break for foul play.

However, the locals couldn't capitalise against the numerically challenged home side and Morley made sure of their win late on when Craig Field went over for a try.

Stephens gave himself an early St David's Day present with the extras to complete the scoring.

Vale return to action on March 12 in a huge game at Powder House Lane against fellow strugglers Liverpool St Helens. That North One fixture is crucial to the survival hopes of both clubs.

VALE: Blackburn; Bryan, Sorour, Bennetts, Curran; Jones, Bleasdale; Jackson, Watson, Sutcliffe (Lord 63); Crous, McHugh; Hoyle, Darwen, Barton.