Hurting… Very frustrating… We have to get better – Darrell Clarke on Port Vale’s loss to Oldham Athletic
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke said the squad was “hurting” after their dramatic loss to Oldham Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
The Valiants went into a 2-1 lead and could have stretched it further when captain Tom Conlon hit the woodwork. However, Vale’s failure to deal with the aerial ball saw the home side score twice in the closing stages to secure a 3-2 victory.
We are a very frustrated and disappointed outfit today. Certainly disappointed for our travelling fans…
The Valiants were backed by almost 2,000 travelling fans and Clarke told the media: “First of all, I would like to thank the fans who have travelled in their numbers and were outstanding all game, I am hurting for them to be honest with you.
“We have dominated the game of football but we haven’t defended our box.
“We haven’t been clinical enough to maybe get the third and fourth goal and then we haven’t defended our box the minimal times it has actually gone in the box.
“We are a very frustrated and disappointed outfit today. Certainly disappointed for our travelling fans. I thought we deserved the three points but if you don’t defend your box at crucial times that’s what can happen, and we have to get better than that.
“We have to get better at it, there are no scapegoats.
“The ball has gone in our box very little, we have dominated the ball, dominated possession and dominated opportunities but we haven’t defended the three or four times it has gone in our box.
“We will look at it, analyse it and get better at it, it’s as simple as that.”