Neil Aspin has praised his “hard working” Port Vale squad despite their exit in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night.

The Valiants lost out to a good League One side in Shrewsbury Town at Vale Park, following a brave performance. Cristian Montano put Vale ahead before two second-half goals allowed the Shrews to go through.

Talking after the game, the gaffer was pleased with his side in the first-half as they showed a lot of fight and effort against tough opposition.

He said: “I was very pleased with the first-half performance.

“We worked hard and we played some good football. We had a good tempo and shape in the game as we restricted them to that one chance where they hit the bar, so we gave a good account of ourselves.

“In the second-half, they pushed us back and had a lot more of the possession. I was disappointed with the first goal we conceded, but there were a lot of positives.”

The game saw the return of Tyrone Barnett and Billy Reeves who were collecting minutes for the reserves in recent weeks. Both of the players impressed, with the gaffer keeping a watchful eye on them both for future games.

A return for Ben Whitfield also was witnessed with the winger returning after injury.

“They both proved that they have a desire to do well,” he said.

“They worked very hard and they haven’t played a lot of football, so they did well during the game.

“Ben came back tonight which is good for his confidence. When you’re injured, you want to get yourself back on the pitch. He showed some good touches in a 30-minute spell and was a threat.

“It’s nice to have him back.”