Frustration for Darrell Clarke as Port Vale beaten by Salford

Posted Wednesday, January 19, 2022 by PA

Darrell Clarke was left frustrated by Port Vale’s 1-0 loss to Salford in a fixture delayed by a damaged goalpost.

The Valiants’ first-half dominance was disrupted by a 10-minute stoppage after Connor Hall collided with the post and a tractor entered the field to straighten the woodwork.

Despite the home side sitting comfortably in the ascendancy – Ben Garrity twice having efforts cleared off the line – the travelling Ammies snatched an unlikely goal against the run of play after the interval.

Tom Elliott’s strike from close range in the 50th minute – Salford’s only attempt on target – proved to be the decider in a disappointing evening for Clarke and his side.

The Vale boss said: “I don’t think it was a bad performance; it was frustrating, and I’d have been annoyed with a draw.

“We dominated a lot of the game, were on the front foot but we were a little bit sloppy in our decision-making and it was one of those nights.

“We didn’t have to defend a lot all game, but we haven’t got the result and it’s a results business. We were chasing a game that we should never have been chasing.

“They had three goal-line blocks that were going in the back of the net, so they defended well, but we’re disappointed not to score at least a couple of goals.

“We’ve had a long spell without league games and they’re coming thick and fast; we’ll get our rhythm and we’ll ride this storm we’re in, not a problem. It’s about moving forward from here and we will do in a positive way.”

Despite spending the majority of the fixture in their own half, the Ammies defended resolutely with Theo Vassell and Donald Love both denying Garrity with goal-line blocks.

After two half-time substitutions, Salford emerged from the interval energised and struck a sucker-punch blow when Elliott converted what proved to be the winner.

Salford boss Gary Bowyer said of his side: “They’re an honest bunch, we know we have to be better on the ball but the one piece of quality we did show resulted in the goal which won us the game.

“We’ve just said in the dressing room, ‘don’t be too hard on yourselves in terms of the performance’, because there’s been a few times this season where we’ve been happy with the performance but not got anything from it so it’s nice to get one back.

“I have to give credit to our lads for staying in the game and putting their bodies on the line. The way we’ve defended in the last couple of games is really pleasing. We’ve not had a flow of availability through injuries and Covid and isolations, so it’s been difficult, but we’ve stayed in and around.

“We haven’t that flow of selection or relationship-building on the pitch, but we’re getting there.”