Richie Bennett found the back of the net twice last night as the Vale came from a goal down to defeat promotion chasing Exeter City at Vale Park, with the forward praising the attitude shown by the players.
The striker not only commended the team for their response shown to last week’s defeat at Swindon Town, but also to a poor first-half that saw them trailing at the break, with the side showing what they’re capable of in the second period.
Bennett, who scored from the penalty spot and with a header, stated how the team were able to dig in and fight back to a commanding win against one of the strongest sides in the league.
Being shown faith by the gaffer to lead the line was a boost for Bennett who was proud to repay the trust by getting back amongst the goals, against an Exeter side who previously hadn’t conceded a goal in 2020.
Despite grabbing two goals, Bennett expressed how he felt it wasn’t his best performance but was glad to turn things around in the second-half and take the opportunity John Askey presented him with.
He said: “We needed a good response after Saturday and we did that, first-half we didn’t start bright enough, we didn’t get around everyone, win enough second balls, so we started bright second-half, got up the pitch and had a good go at them.
“A team like Exeter they are where they are because they’re good at what they do so we needed to do things quicker, faster and with a lot more energy and a lot more quality and I think we did that second-half.
“When I get my chance I’ve got to take it, probably not my best performance, first-half it wasn’t good, but the lads responded great second-half and some great performances second-half .
“The gaffer’s told us he’s got the belief in us all and the likes of Tom [Pope] and Mark [Cullen] when they’ve come in have done well, so I know when I’ve got a chance I’ve got to come in and score goals or have a good performance.”
Bennett put his confidence on display when the Vale were awarded a penalty, with the forward not hesitating in grabbing the ball before sticking it in the back of the net.
After hitting the six goal mark last night, Bennett highlighted how he is hopeful his form will continue this Saturday against Salford City.
The confidence for Saturday’s Salford clash is high, as the Vale seek to make it three home wins in a row, with Bennett signifying how the team can play without fear at Vale Park.
He said: “We practice it [penalties] in training with Jonny [Maddison] and [Scott] Browny and I know which way I was going and I was confident and I was just going to get a clean strike on the ball and it got us going.
“I want to start every game no matter who it’s against and I want to be scoring goals and doing what I can to help the team out.
“We’ve got nothing to fear, if we start like we did second-half then we won’t be far off, we’ve just got to show the courage and the belief of each other and have that no fear factor of knowing whoever we play, no matter what, we have the belief in each other.”