DARRELL’S DELIGHT
Vale take step towards survival as Clarke breaks duck against Newport
PORT Vale boss Darrell Clarke says his players deserve all the credit after they moved eight points clear of the relegation zone with a hard-earned 2-1 win at home to Newport County.
Tom Conlon’s 12th-minute opener was cancelled out by Jake Scrimshaw on 55, but Devante Rodney struck the 75th-minute winner to give Clarke his first win since leaving Walsall to join the Vale eight games ago.
More importantly, the result eases Vale’s fears about falling out of the Football League.
The manager said: “It is a big win, make no bones about it. It is not about me winning my first game, it is about my players. I thought they were outstanding in that first 30 minutes.
“I have been asking for that quality. The effort and commitment has been there, then we had some really good quality in that first 30 minutes of the first half.
“We got a little bit sloppy at the end of the first half, but then it was the other side of the game, which I think we have been doing particularly well, digging in, in games. It was fantastic to see.
“They equalised then we went down and scored, then we are digging in. We went to a back five to shore it up and they didn’t cause us any problems.
“So the players tonight deserve all the plaudits.”
Clarke says the quality of performances will improve as key players such as Dave Worrall, who is back in the side after an ankle injury, gain match fitness.
He said: “Worrall now has had two or three games for us, he is a big player for us, so he gets his match fitness levels up.
“Theo (Robinson), match fitness levels up. I thought he ran himself into the ground at times, as did the majority of the lads. So, as the fitness levels go up we are hoping we are going to get more consistent quality performances.
“We won’t get carried away. But it is a big win on a night when the pressure was on.
“The players have come out with massive credit.”