Chris Eagles’ 85th minute stunner earned Vale a vital three points in their battle for safety, against Walsall on Tuesday night.
Eagles popped up with a crucial goal as Vale look to triumph in their attempt of a great escape, which will now go down to the last day of the season.
Manager Michael Brown spoke exclusively to Valiant PlayerHD after the game about the acquisition of Eagles in the winter transfer window.
“He was a great signing. We had to nurture him at the beginning because he had not played a lot of football. I had to put my arm around him occasionally to make sure he wasn’t frustrated.
“We can see that he tried things differently and it is hard for him that other players do it slightly different to the way that he has done things for years before, so it has been hard for him and we have had to explain certain things.
“We just wanted him to be more positive in the second half. He took the advice that we gave him into the second half, and hopefully we can do that again at the weekend.”
However, Eagles was not the only star of the show for Vale on Tuesday night, as Leo Fasan was pivotal in-between the sticks for Vale throughout.
“He pulled off two massive saves, it was important that he did well tonight and we felt that it was important to change it.
“He obviously disappointed with his performance against Northampton, and we decided to take him out, but he has been training hard and we thought that it was a good chance for him.”
Vale will be confident heading into the final game of the season that they can secure safety, after coming off the back of this massive win, as Brown says.
“It should give them a huge lift. They are quite a quiet lot, and it worried me before the game a little bit that they were quite apprehensive and they were wondering which way it was going to go.
“Even afterwards, they weren’t celebrating because they knew the job at hand, and they began preparing straight away with massages and such. Don’t get me wrong, they enjoyed it, it was a good place to be, but the most important one is now on Sunday.”