Defender Daniel Jones gave his honest assessment after Vale crashed out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy second-round.

A Joe Rafferty header was enough on the night to see SkyBet League 2 side Rochdale progress and as Jones explains Vale never got going. 

He told Valiant Player: “We just didn’t get started, they were better than us all over the pitch.

“It was just one of those nights, they played good football and we didn’t get to grips with them.

“We didn’t get close to them all over the pitch, I don’t think we worked hard enough,” he said.

“I just don’t think we got to grips with their shape.”

There’s an old-age football saying that the worst time to concede is just on the cusp of half-time and that’s exactly what Vale did.

“We played better in the second-half, but the first-half let us down massively, they scored and then sat back and we had to chase.

“He (Rob Page) was disappointed because of the way we had been playing over the last few weeks, it’s a big disappointment.”

Vale had chances late-on, Loft blasted over and Lee Hughes got his feet in a muddle which saw another chance go begging.

“We had a few chances but they deserved to win to be honest.”

One glimmer of positive news tonight is the fact that Vale had Jones back on the Vale Park pitch; the defender completed 90 minutes for the second-time since suffering an injury against Wolves.

“I was really blowing at some points but I felt better as the game went on.

“In the first-half that wasn’t me, I felt stiff but I loosened up in the second-half and it was nice to be back out there,” said Jones.

So it’s back to the training ground for Vale as they prepare for the arrival of Peterborough United on Saturday. 

“We need the right reaction, get back on the training ground and work hard again and just focus on the league,” said Jones.