Keeper Speaks To Valiant Player After Victory

• Neal saved spot kick during win at Crawley Town
• The 29-year-old claims he had an idea which side former teammate Tomlin would pick
• Says victory more important than penalty save

Port Vale goalkeeper Chris Neal was delighted to have saved a penalty in Saturday’s win over Crawley Town but insisted the three points were more important.

The 29-year-old dived low to his right to deny former teammate Gavin Tomlin from the spot, while Michael Brown and Louis Dodds did the business for Rob Page’s side at the other end of the pitch.

The win ensured Vale’s points tally rose to 26 in Sky Bet League One, putting them level with Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers in the table.

Speaking to Valiant Player following the win at Broadfield Stadium, Neal was clearly pleased to have played an important role.

“It’s always nice, it’s always a bonus in a game when you make a penalty save,” he said.

“You’re not expected to save penalties and if you do it’s a bonus. To be fair, it was probably quite an important time in the game.

“If they’d have got back in the game, it’d have been a tough second-half so I’m obviously personally delighted with that but the three points are more important really.”

Click here to watch the full Valiant Player interview with Chris Neal following Saturday’s 2-1 win over Crawley Town.

Alternatively, watch a short clip of the interview in the YouTube video below.