Burton Albion: Valiant effort earns narrow win
But for Northampton Town's late equaliser last week, the Brewers would now be looking at three 1-0 wins on the trot and the resilience that manager Paul Peschisolido had called for is ever more plain to see.
He has gathered together a set of players who are willing to buy into the thoughtfulness and flexible tactics that he and assistant manager Gary Rowett have brought to the club.
Maghoma is a prime example. The former Spurs youngster looks great when he is skipping past players, as he did for his 39th-minute goal, but he tended to drift in and out of games at the start of the campaign after winning a contract in a sparkling pre-season.
Now there is a work ethic on view as well and it is keeping the 22-year-old in the team.
Alongside him in midfield, John McGrath and Russell Penn were tireless in chasing down Port Vale, while, up front, Steve Kabba and Shaun Harrad will get greater rewards on other days if they continue to run themselves as silly as they did on Saturday.
At the back, Tony James and Tom Parkes stood firm in the face of the Valiants' resolutely direct approach, while goalkeeper Artur Krysiak's sure handling is again breeding confidence.
The wobble in form while his future at Burton was contractually uncertain earlier in the season is a distant memory.
After Harrad lobbed an early chance high over the bar, it was Krysiak who made the first telling impression on the game, saving sharply with his legs at the corner of his six-yard box when Tommy Fraser's neat pass invited a shot from Louis Dodds after eight minutes.
Apart from Craig Davies hitting the outside of the post from an impossible angle in the second half, it was to be as close as Port Vale came, although their work rate and organisation under Micky Adams is marking them out as a difficult side to play against.
As a frantic midfield battle developed, Burton went close after 21 minutes when Harrad and Kabba played a sharp one-two but Lee Collins' tackle on Kabba as the striker shaped to shoot was perfectly timed.
Maghoma and Cleveland Taylor had only just swapped wings when Maghoma's magic moment lit up the contest.
He accepted a throw in from Andy Corbett on the right, turned past Kris Taylor and drove on into the penalty area, evading two more challenges, before tucking a low shot inside Chris Martin's left-hand post from 12 yards.
The instant reaction was that he had scuffed the shot somewhat but the TV replays suggest more credit was due to Maghoma for clever placement, where the goalkeeper was least expecting the shot.
Rob Taylor drove a decent chance over for Port Vale before half-time but the Brewers started the second period with a cluster of corners, which saw Parkes have a shot blocked and Maghoma volley wide.
Vale wanted a penalty for handball when Davies had a shot blocked by Aaron Webster just inside the penalty area but the referee was not interested.
In a tense atmosphere, not helped by an overspill of visiting supporters crammed into one end of the Burton terracing, the Brewers conceded a flurry of bookings leading up to the hour.
Harrad was lucky his was only yellow, as the red mist descended when he was fouled by Dodds and he took a kick at the floored Vale player. He is a likeable and honest lad but he needs to keep a lid on his occasional flashes of temper.
Parkes was caught out for the only time when Davies hit the post from the left bye-line but, such was the angle, it hardly counted as a near miss and the tall Burton-born striker got no other change out of Parkes all afternoon.
As Vale went for broke in search of the equaliser, it began to look as if Kabba's pace might exploit the gaps.
Match-fit now, the on-loan striker is showing that he can cruise past defenders who have a start on him and he was only just beaten to Harrad's cross from the left after 83 minutes.
Vale threw on veteran assistant manager Geoff Horsfield with a few minutes left, Peschisolido perhaps surprisingly responding by giving a second appearance to tall centre-half O'Neil Thompson, who had unfortunate involvement in all three Vale goals on his debut when the two teams met last month.
It was tough to ask him to slot in instantly and alarming when he immediately stood right in front of James but, in the event, nothing much happened as the Brewers played out five minutes of added time, largely at the preferred end of the pitch.
JUST LIKE THAT: Burton Albion midfielder Jacques Maghoma explains to his team-mates how he shimmied through the Port Vale defence (main picture) as they arrive to congratulate him on scoring the only goal of the game. Maghoma is pictured (left) battling with Vale's Gareth Owen.
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