Vale boss shows Shortwood respects but is delighted with the result

Micky Adams praised Vale’s opponents following the game last night after the none-league outfit put in a shift, despite going down four-nil to the Valiants.

The partr-timers gave everything they have got and gave their supporters something to be proud of in front of a record gate at the Meadowbank.

The Vale boss said: “I thought they were a credit to the league they are playing in. They are part timers and they went toe to toe with us and we were delighted to come away with a win.

“I thought the game was played in a terrific spirit. I know there was a couple of incidents, but it’s a cup tie where people want to win.

“As far as Shortwood are concerned, I thought they were a credit to their management team, but most importantly a credit to themselves.

“We expected them to response at half time – it was just a matter of time before we scored another couple, but I thought perhaps four-nil flattered us a little bit, but we are delighted with it.

“We had to get it right in our heads. Often you go to non-league grounds and think you have won the game before you have even played it, but I felt we put on a professional performance.

“We got it right, our mentality was right in a game we wanted to win – we wanted to put on a show and we have done that.

“The early goal settled us down a lot but we played an open expansive game with two wingers and really pushed them wide.

“Luckily for us, Jennison Myrie-Williams got the first one and Chris Birchall got the second one, so it was a terrific performance from the two wide players.

“The two goals settled us down and gave us the confidence to go on and win the game. I thought it was a terrific game and I thought it was competitive. Full credit to Shortwood, they had a go, but in the end the class told.

“You are not going to win a game like that in the first ten or fifteen minutes, you have got to keep going and grind them down as best you can.

“You have got to take your chances while you can – we could have had a couple more, but we limited Shortwood to very few chances.

“Even if we had won two-nil I would have still been delighted. It doesn’t matter if you win a cup tie two-nil or four-nil, you are still through to the next round.”