ASPIN: WE DIDN’T PLAY WELL, BUT LUCK WASN’T ON OUR SIDE EITHER

PORT Vale boss Neil Aspin said the scoreline didn’t reflect his team’s performance as they were beaten 3-0 at home by Colchester. The Valiants fell behind to Courtney Senior’s deflected strike on five minutes before going further behind when Harry Pell was left free to volley home from a corner on 18 minutes. Vale came close to getting back into the game just before half time when Ben Whitfield and Luke Joyce were denied in a goalmouth scramble, and then Antony Kay put a header over after the break before Pell’s deflected long range strike netted Colchester’s third, on 69 minutes. Louis Dodds missed a chance in the final moments, but the game was gone by then. Vale were booed off at half-time and full-time, and fans chanted against owner Norman Smurthwaite. The Valiants stay in 19th, but are now just five points clear of the relegation zone after Macclesfield and Yeovil both won away. Aspin said: “If you look from the outside you would see the scoreline and think it was a really poor performance. I thought the first 20 minutes was very poor and when we conceded the first goal we looked really nervous. “And at 2-0 down... we struggle to score goals so for us to then get three, it is going to be difficult. “But the first goal is a double deflection and then on the stroke of half-time we could have been 2-1 which would have made it a different second half. “We have had no luck at all, the keeper has just got his toe to it. “They got a couple of good blocks on another one which would have given us a chance and then we have had Antony’s header in the second half. I thought we had a good 20 minutes from the end of the first half and the start of the second, we did really well. “They are sitting back as you would expect at 2-0, but we were dominating the play. Kayze had a chance with a header and, if that goes in it gives us a chance. “But the the third goal, which is another deflection... I mean how many times is that going to end up in the top corner? “I think you know I am honest enough, I don’t make excuses, but we have had no luck whatsoever today, everything has gone against us, summed up by the missed chance right at the death. How we have not scored there - not that it is going to make any difference. “You need some luck. We can’t afford to concede goals at home like we are doing, we shoot ourselves in the foot by conceding early goals and that gives us a mountain to climb.” Aspin said Vale must improve, but he couldn’t fault the players’ efforts. He said: “Everybody has a different opinion. But do you think the players put in an effort and tried? I think they did. “They (Colchester) are a good team and have some good players, we knew that and we have to be at our best to get anything from games like this. Unfortunately in the first 20 minutes we weren’t and that’s what has cost us the game - not the second half. “It is the first 20 minutes which has cost us.” ■ JOE Davis, who is back from his loan at York, Dan Turner and Harry Benns were the senior players in a youthful Vale side that lost 2-0 in a friendly at Stafford Rangers on Saturday.