The opening game of the season didn't disappoint with a five-goal display between Port Vale and Tranmere.
However Vale's performance turned out to be as grey as the weather with Tranmere proving the stronger of the two sides.
Vale seemed to want the three points more early on when Marc Bridge-Wilkinson crossed from the right which found Steve Brooker jumping, but a punch by Keith Welch put the ball at John Durnin's feet who could only fire it over.
Steve McPhee took advantage of a Tranmere mistake in the 25th minute to supply a superb ball into the box where Bridge-Wilkinson laid it off for Brooker to slot into Welch's bottom right corner.
Tranmere struck back in the 40th minute when a quick ball from Ian Sharps came to Jason Koumas who hammered a left-foot shot in Mark Goodlad's bottom right corner.
Rovers struck a killer blow before half time when Koumas turned supplier when his free-kick from the left found Simon Haworth unmarked to niod it home from six yards.
The second half didn't prove much better with Vale's defence not being able to withstand Tranmere's quick attacks.
Tranmere struck early in the 47th minute when yet again Koumas supplied a free-kick from the right which Graham Allen connected with at the far post to finish into Goodlad's bottom left corner.
The Valiants did show some promise in the 78th minute when a powerful run down the left from Brooker resulted in a cross which Vale old boy Jon McCarthy could only stretch to reach and put wide of Eric Nixon's far post.
Tranmere finished off the rout in the last minute when a slip by Michael Walsh allowed Haworth to break towards Goodlad to slot the ball underneath him from ten yards.
Vale boss Brian Horton didn't defend the performance saying :"If we play like that at Cardiff we'll get a spanking.
"The players will be brought in for extra training tomorrow because we simply weren't good enough."
However Ray Mathias was more upbeat adding: "My players showed some great character and worked hard in training and the system paid off.
"I was expecting a performance like that, I felt it in my waters."