Ben Whitehead scored twice as Vale of White Horse Schools under 15s opened their campaign with an easy 5-1 victory over Newbury in a friendly at Kintbury on Thursday.

Whitehead opened the scoring after three minutes when racing through a square defence to slide the ball home.

Frankie Merola added a second from the penalty spot after Whitehead had been fouled.

Then Sam Davis used his strength to evade a defender and put Vale 3-0 ahead.

Oliver Taylor bent the ball inside the far post to put Vale four goals ahead at the break.

The visitors lost their way in the second half, when their only strike came when Davis provided the cross for Whitehead to drive in his second from the edge of the box.

Poor marking allowed Newbury to score a consolation goal.

This win raised a number of areas that need sorting out, particularly in midfield where the service to the strikers was not good enough.

Vale will have to play a lot better than this if they are to beat a talented Aldershot in the first round of English Schools Trophy.