Blackpool 0 - 1 Port Vale: Rob Page praises Michael Brown after battling Port Vale win



Posted Sunday, January 10, 2016 by PA

AJ Leitch-Smith's second-half strike earned Port Vale a 1-0 win over struggling Blackpool but it was Michael Brown who earned the praise of Valiants boss Rob Page.

Brown - the 38-year-old former Sheffield United and Tottenham midfielder - protected the Vale back four in fine style as the visitors moved into the top half of the Sky Bet League One table.

Leitch-Smith's bundled rebound soon after the interval proved the only goal of the game as Blackpool's defeat keeps them in the relegation zone.

Vale boss Page likes what he is seeing from his side who won their second on the spin after a four-game winless streak in the league - and Brown's experience has been key to that.

"Browny has come in the last two games and with his experience and knowledge of when to play and what areas to play it makes a big difference," he said.

"I think he's certainly had an impact. We win and lose as a team. Browny has sat in front of the back four and been terrific, but every single one of them deserved that clean sheet.

"Browny has been outstanding for two games, two clean sheets and six points. I've always said you go in and give a good account of yourself and it's up to you to lose the jersey.

"We've had to dig deep in the last five minutes and to a man everyone stood up to be counted today. The mentality and game management has improved.

"We are not looking at the league. We addressed problems from the first half of the season and it's about taking chances."

Neil McDonald's Seasiders have now lost three in a row and the manager could not hide his frustration after the game - particularly after his side had a penalty appeal turned down moments before Leitch-Smith struck.

"It's disappointing. I don't think there was much in the game and I think we had the best chance in the whole of the game actually and Andy Little should have put the ball in the back of the net," he said.

"We've had a clear penalty not given, we've switched off and they've gone up the other end and punished us.

"It's a definite handball and the referee hasn't given it, we've switched off and they punished us with probably the only chance they've had all game. We can make excuses but we shouldn't have switched off. They were frustrated that it was a blatant handball.

"We are trying everything we possibly can to win some games and we will continue to do that. We have to believe that we can win the next game, if we don't we may as well finish the season now.

"It's going to be busy all the way in January. We are trying to strengthen as much as we possibly can and if we can get some over the line we will continue to do that."

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