Graham Westley unhappy after Barnet held by Port Vale - 7M sport

Graham Westley unhappy after Barnet held by Port Vale



Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2018 by PA

Graham Westley unhappy after Barnet held by Port Vale

Barnet boss Graham Westley was disappointed with his side’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Port Vale despite seeing them move off the foot of the League Two table.

The home side got off to the perfect start by taking the lead in the fourth minute when Ryan Watson hit the crossbar and the rebound fell to Alex Nicholls who tapped it in.

A mistake by goalkeeper George Legg in the 51st minute allowed Anton Forrester to head Vale level but the Bees moved up a place in the standings on goal difference.

“It was probably as bad a performance since I’ve been here,” said Westley.

“The energy levels were really disappointing this evening, we didn’t produce the level of ground coverage, the level of passing, the control of the football that we’ve been producing.

“They [Port Vale] put in a very experienced display and perhaps at times we showed a bit of naivety that young players will show in pressure situations.

“It’s a good learning curve for us because we’ve got a lot of pressure games coming up which are must-win games.

“We’ve got to learn to be stronger and have more courage on the ball to get the results we need.

“We’ve been really poor with the lead and I think there has been a mentality in the club that we haven’t scored a lot of goals this season and if you get a goal then you need to hang onto it.

“The players get negative, sit deep and as much as you try to squeeze them up the pitch, they just want to protect their lead.”

Port Vale manager Neil Aspin was pleased with the way his side responded after going behind early on.

“It was a very good point because of our respective positions in the divisions,” he said. “It was one of these games that you can’t afford to lose.

“We had the worst possible start after going behind but I thought we dominated the first half.

“I thought we played some good football, passed the ball well, probably could’ve done with a bit more goal-threat but our play was good.

“In the second half we got the equaliser and I’m pleased with the way that the lads responded to the worst possible start.

“There’s no easy games anywhere in this league and away from home, every point you get is difficult to get.

“I’ve watched Barnet a couple of times – against Colchester where they won away from home and against Coventry – and they played really well so we weren’t up against a bad side today. Even though they’re bottom of the league, that means nothing and they’re equal to any team in this league.”

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