Matt Stevens scored a late equaliser to earn leaders Forest Green a 1-1 draw at Port Vale and stretch their unbeaten run to 16 League Two matches.

It appeared as though on-loan striker Ryan Edmondson’s first-half finish would be enough to earn promotion-chasing Port Vale victory and complete a league double over their opponents but Stevens poked home his 21st goal of the season in all competitions to deny them.

Edmondson, who joined the Valiants from Leeds earlier this month through to the end of the campaign, put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute after his flicked header from Chris Hussey’s inswinging corner found its way into the net.

They deservedly went into the half-time break in the lead but Forest Green came out fighting in the second half with leading marksmen Stevens testing Tomas Holy three minutes after the restart with a close-range effort.

Forest Green were by no means piling the pressure on Vale but they were still able to snatch a point through Stevens in a true show of why they sit top of the league.