VALE FAIL TO SEIZE CHANCE

THERE was no way of dressing up Port Vale’s performance at Wigan Athletic in Saturday's 1-0 defeat as anything other than awful.

- Clive Youlton

Setting up not to lose is okay to a point, but allowing a team to score a winner after seeing your opponents have a man sent off three minutes before halftime is difficult to find sympathy with.

Vale simply did not fathom how to play against 10 men for the entire second half, gave the ball away, made mistakes and their decision-making was poor.

Too many players were off their usual standard and it was without doubt their worst performance of the season.

Winger Ronan Curtis, playing at wing-back, produced two headers across his own penalty area either side of halftime which led to pivotal moments in the game. The first, in Vale’s favour, saw Dara Costelloe handed a straight red card for trying an overhead kick and accidentally kicking Kyle John in the face.

The second was calamitous as Curtis nodded a long ball from Wigan straight across his own goal and into the path of Maleace Asamoah Jr who managed to bundle the ball in for what proved the winner.

Jesse Debrah was once again an exception in terms of performance as he had an excellent game going forward and in defence.

But overall, two shots on target in 90 minutes plus stoppage time is hard to defend and Vale simply lacked that urgency required to get back into the contest.

On the plus side, it was only their first league defeat in six but still, they ended the day in 18th place, just a point above the bottom-four relegation places.

Darren Moore rang the changes again although one was enforced as the injured Jordan Gabriel missed out while in came John which was as much of a surprise as a relief after his own injury issue.

Out too went Ryan Croasdale, always a mystery when he remains the engine room of the team. He dropped to the bench in favour of Dajaune Brown, while the big decision from Moore was to leave keeper Ben Amos out for the returning Joe Gauci when many thought he deserved to stay in given the quality of his last two starts.