‘YOU’VE BEEN FAN-TASTIC’
Goal hero Benning insists Vale players were determined to reward club’s support with final win
PORT Vale hero Mal Benning says supporters deserve to be back in League One after the club ended their five-year exile with Saturday’s 3-0 win over Mansfield Town in the play-off final at Wembley.
Benning’s goal five minutes from time made certain of victory for a Vale side who had taken a 2-0 lead through Kian Harratt, on 20 minutes, and James Wilson on 24, and had been playing against 10 men after Oli Hawkins was sent off on 35.
That meant celebrations for Vale and their 17,000 supporters after a dramatic season. They had dropped out of the automatic promotion places in the final month but secured a play-off place with a win at Exeter on the final day of the regular season before holding their nerve to beat Swindon in a thrilling two-legged semi-final that was finally settled on penalties at Vale Park.
Benning thanked the club’s supporters for their backing all year. He said: “They deserve it. There were times this season when I wasn’t in the squad and I was travelling with the squad seeing the coaches of fans going to Harrogate and Rochdale. They deserve every bit of this. Hopefully they enjoy the summer and get ready for League One.”
The left-wing back, who joined from Mansfield last summer, produced an excellent performance against his old club. His efforts included setting up
Harratt for the opener and then adding the third when he raced into the area to meet Dave Worrall’s cross with a sliding volley.
He said: “Winning promotion at Wembley is something that dreams are made of. I’m thankful for everyone giving me the opportunity and I’m happy to help Port Vale get to League One.
“Mansfield are a good team and we had to be wary of that. We got two early goals and we had to control it because we knew if they got one back, then 2-1 is a dangerous scoreline. Thankfully we got the third to kill it off.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Mansfield but I scored at Wembley so I had to celebrate. I’m a Vale player now and that’s my focus.”
Talking about his goal, he added: “I thought the defender was going to get there first, but I ran as hard as I could, stuck a leg out. I tried to hit it on the volley and it went in. For the first five seconds I didn’t know what to do but it killed the game, so it was an important goal.”
Benning says Vale didn’t relax even when they were 2-0 up at halftime against 10 men.
Asked about the team talk at the break, he added: “It wasn’t, ‘Well done lads, job’s done.’ The gaffer brought up Bristol Rovers when we were 2-1 up against nine men and they battered us really. We went on to win it, but they battered us.
“We knew we had to control the first 15 minutes. They had a spell but I thought our shape was incredible.”
As for winning promotion at Wembley, he said: “It’s a dream at the moment. When I sit down and reflect on it, that’s when it’ll hit me.
“I was close to winning promotion with Mansfield and it’s always been one thing that’s been nagging in my career. There were times this season when I was out of the squad, I had to work really hard to make sure I was ready for any chance whether I got it or not.
“Thankfully I did, I got in and we got promoted.”