VALE SEE POINTS SLIP AWAY IN FRANTIC FINALE
THESE games are supposed to happen once in a blue moon, so maybe we shouldn’t dwell on the fact it was 11 months ago that Vale lost 4-3 at home to Tranmere after also blowing a 3-2 lead in the final few minutes.
Vale also started last season with promotion form, but that result shoved them tottering and then falling down the league, weaknesses in the squad exposed in a bizarre, behind-closed-doors season as manager John Askey lost his job within three months.
So, that’s rather a grim reminder of what can happen, although Darrell Clarke’s Vale seen to have more strength in depth and more ability to cope with setbacks like Saturday at Sutton when 2-0 and 3-2 leads transformed into defeat when the Football League new-boys scored on 87 and 91 minutes to claim all three points.
If ‘Football League new-boys’ sounds like a disparaging, ‘Vale shouldn’tbe-losing-to-the-likes-ofthem’ description then it’s not meant to be.
They had won four of their previous five league games so were top of the form table with Vale and, like Clarke’s side, have plenty of togetherness.
That was hammered home because the press box is only divided from the club bar by a brick wall and so these notes were typed out while accompanied by deafening
chants in tribute to manager Matty Gray that lasted a good half an hour.
Vale weren’t good enough to see off a side who are now seventh and only a point and three places behind them.
Having been on the right end of a thriller last week, when Vale scored twice in stoppage time to win 3-2 at home to Leyton
Orient, Clarke was pretty philosophical at the end of this one as he reflected on the highs and lows of football.
That said, he also made clear lessons had to be learned, such as conceding the last three goals to crosses or free-kicks into the area.
He said: “We just didn’t defend enough of the balls coming into our box. We probably missed a Leon Legge or an Aaron Martin in this particular game just to deal with those things in general.
“But then, they have scored four goals, one is a deflection, one has bounced around and ricocheted in the box, one is an own goal. It is one of those days.
Sometimes you get games like that and you have to take it on the chin.
“Congratulations to Sutton, they win the game and will be delighted – and we have to pick ourselves up.”
The manager also gave an update on centre halves Legge, who has a knee injury, and Martin, who has been out with a back problem.
“Leon is coming out of his brace so should be stepping up his rehab in the next week or two. Aaron has trained for a couple of days, not fully. We are hoping to have him back in full training next week.”
Vale’s unchanged side had looked quite capable of winning this one when Nathan Smith headed home Jamie Proctor’s cross on 21 minutes before James Gibbons cut the ball back for Proctor to sweep it home from 12 yards seven minutes later.
But Sutton got a foothold in the game on 36 minutes when Rob Milsom’s 25-yard strike took a deflection past Lucas Covolan. They put Vale under pressure after the break and levelled on 69 minutes when Ben Garrity misjudged a cross from the left and sent a looping header into his own net.
Tom Conlon restored Vale’s lead when he pounced on a half-cleared corner on the edge of the area and rifled the ball home low 12 minutes from time.
But Sutton weren’t done and levelled through substitute Will Randall’s back post header on 87 minutes before snatching the winner in stoppage time when Covolan couldn’t claim a free-kick pumped to a crowded back post and Coby Rowe lashed home the rebound.
Clarke had tried to manage the game by substituting strike pairing James Wilson and Jamie Proctor for George Lloyd and David Amoo, on 66 minutes, and then replacing James Gibbons with Ryan Johnson on 83.
He said: “Proc is struggling with a minor thing and I just thought we needed a little bit more energy in there.
“Then when Tom Conlon gets the third goal we are hoping to see the game out. So I utilised the whole squad for different reasons. The freshness and impetus got us back to 3-2 and then we didn’t defend a few crosses in the box and they got a little bit of luck.”
Vale’s bad luck included being on the wrong end of a couple of controversial calls. Clarke was booked for his protests following Sutton’s equaliser at 2-2, the goal having come from a throw-in Vale felt should have gone their way.
They were unhappy again when Sutton’s winner came from a free-kick against George Lloyd that Vale felt was a foul on the striker.
Clarke said: “We had it earlier in the season when videos are going out and are coming back and saying yes, the referee got that wrong.
“They have to do better haven’t they? We are all under pressure to win football games and they have to get some big calls right.
“We were on the end of some not so many good calls today, but that’s football.”
His final message was his side will come back.
He said: “We go again, it is a long full season, there is 25 per cent of it just about gone now and there are a lot of positives to take from that. We have to do that but we have to do plenty of work ahead, keep the group together and be positive.
“Do I think we probably deserved to win the game? Yes, I think on another day you do win the game. We were joyous and celebrating last week. This week we are picking ourselves up.
“What I will tell you is we will react the right way and we will make sure next week we are back on track.”