VALE OF CHEERS Clarke heroes are on the up
MOVE over Robbie Williams, step aside Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor – Darrell Clarke is the new king of Port Vale.
As Clarke – born in Mansfield and a former Stags favourite – plotted a Wembley romp, only the stoniest heart would have begrudged him triumph to eclipse personal grief.
Earlier this year, the Vale manager was given six weeks’ compassionate leave after the death of his 18-year-old daughter Ellie, and he only made a comeback in the dugout for the final game of the league season.
Clarke was in tears for the last five minutes of the game as he glanced skywards.
He said: “This is special because of what my family have been through. I don’t want sympathy, but I like to think she was kicking every ball up there.”
Both sets of fans united in a minute’s applause for Clarke and he was visibly moved by the gesture, adding: “That was very special – she was Mansfield born and bred and for those fans to do that touched me greatly.
“And for the players to put in that performance, in the manner they did, was outstanding.”
Kian Harratt struck the inside of a post from 20 yards for Vale and 60 seconds later, stooped to head home unmarked from Mal Benning’s driven cross.
And the Stags were rocking when Ben Garrity’s far-post header hit the bar and James
Wilson nodded his 15th goal of the season from the rebound.
Any chance of a Mansfield comeback was effectively killed off by Oli Hawkins’ brainless dismissal 10 minutes before the break for a second booking.
Mansfield boss Nigel Clough’s despairing face-palm after Hawkins’ reckless lunge cleaned out Wilson told its own story.
Benning met David Worrall’s deep cross with a stunning far-post volley five minutes from time to seal the win.
Clough, whose former club Nottingham Forest will hope for a happier ending in today’s £180million Championship shoot-out with Huddersfield, looked a broken man afterwards.
He will not be back at Wembley to cheer on Forest, and said: “I don’t care if I don’t see another football match for the foreseeable future.
“We didn’t do ourselves justice today. To come back from 2-0 down with 10 men at Wembley is almost impossible.”
MANSFIELD: Bishop 5; Hewitt 5, Hawkins 3, Perch 5, McLaughlin 6; O’Toole 6, Longstaff 4 (Maris (65th) 5), Quinn 5 (Akins 79th); Murphy 5 (Lapslie (54th) 5), Oates 7, Bowery 6
PORT VALE: Stone 6; Gibbons 5, Smith 7, Hall 7; Worrall 7 (Martin 87th), Pett 6, Taylor 6 (Charsley (67th) 6), Benning 8; Garrity 7; Wilson 8, Harratt 7 (Proctor 77th)
STAR MAN: James Wilson
REF: J Gillett