The home side could not have made a better start with Wellecomme netting inside the first minute who gave Harry Pickering no chance from close range.

Wellecomme made it 2-0 in the 17th minute with a crisp shot into the bottom corner of the net after Luke Bottomer had teed up the Chase number 9 from the right wing.

Four minutes before the break, slick passing between Lee Butler and Wellecomme set up strike partner Nathan Waite who neatly finished and still before the half-time break, there was still time for another Chasetown goal as Wellecomme completed a first half hat trick with a strong header.

Craig Harris’ men kept up the pressure after five half-time substitutions and Simon Brown twice went close to setting up Jazz Luckie within the opening few minutes of the second period.

Chasetown keeper Curtis Pond made a late, comfortable save from Vale’s Dan Wakeham, but, that aside, the Scholars were very much in control of proceedings.

Chasetown: John Bateman (Curtis Pond, HT), Todd Evans (Ramone Stephens, 70 mins), Dexter Ravenhill (Grant Beckett, HT), Chris Slater (Lee Downes, 77 mins), Jermaine Johnson, Lee Downes (Danny Edwards, HT), Lee Butler (Mitchell McDonald, 70 mins), Lee Parsons, Nick Wellecomme (Jazz Luckie, HT), Nathan Waite (Jordan Nadat, 62 mins), Luke Bottomer (Simon Brown, HT)