Port Vale progressed to the third round of the Leasing.com Trophy on Tuesday night, and John Askey was more than pleased with the team's performance.
The gaffer made seven changes ahead of Tuesday night’s win, resting some key players, once again proving the depth and quality amongst the Vale squad.
The Vale boss admits that his side were unlucky not to have had a comfortable lead by the interval, and after falling behind early in the second-half, the Vale once again showed their character to come back and get the win, this time on penalties.
Scott Brown proved to be Vale’s hero in the shootout by saving two Mansfield penalties, and Askey explained how Brown deserves a lot of credit due to the amount of work he puts in for those exact scenarios.
“In the first-half we should have been two or three goals up, we played really well and we knew second-half that they would come and close us down but we didn’t take heed, started playing tippy-tappy football and got lulled into a false sense of security and they benefited from that.
“Then we went through a spell and what was really pleasing is how we got through it again, going a goal down to come back and get two was really pleasing. There was a lot of good performances, we made seven changes and we still managed to get a win. You want to keep the winning mentality going, and it’s difficult for the lads coming in who haven’t played regular football, but I thought every single one of them played well, even the ones playing out of position.
“Disappointing that we didn’t see the game out at 2-1, but the lads stepped up to the penalties and looked confident, and Browny [Scott Brown] is the keeper you want at this level to save them. Browny does a lot of work with Ronnie, and Dan the analyst, it doesn’t just happen, they watch what players do on penalties and it pays dividends tonight.”
Following the FA Cup win against Cheltenham on Saturday, Tuesday’s win meant that it was two cup wins in four days for the Vale, and the gaffer emphasised the importance of keeping the feel-good factor going.
The Vale’s FA Cup second round victory earned them a fantastic away tie against competition holders, and Premier League holders, Manchester City, and the gaffer stresses that it’s what everybody at the club deserved.
However, the Vale are back in league action on Saturday afternoon, and with the club sat just three points off a play-off place, Askey admits the league is the most important thing.
“To win two cup competitions in the space of three or four days is good, and we will move on to the league which really is the most important thing.
“It’s just pleasing that the feel-good factor has remained from the beginning of the season and hopefully it will continue to the end.
“I’m pleased for everybody at the football club because it hasn’t happened in a while, its been a few years since we’ve got the third round or drawn a big club, so it gives us all something to look forward to and we’ll try to enjoy it.”