This team goes to the end – Andy Crosby’s verdict on dramatic Port Vale win
Andy Crosby was full of praise for his Port Vale side’s character after they came from behind to beat Barrow on Saturday afternoon.
The Valiants moved into the automatic promotion places after strikes from Jamie Proctor and an 89th minute winner by Aaron Martin saw them win 2-1 on Saturday.
It is a massive lesson to us that we have to be more assertive and play with more quality in the first-half. But this team goes to the end and, in the end, we got the winner…
The Vale trailed at the break and Crosby said the team needed to perform better in the second-half. He told the media: “What a finish! But it was certainly a disappointing start. For whatever reason, I don’t think we were at the races in the first-half.
“So, we came up with some solutions at half-time, let’s say. I thought the second-half response was incredible. We looked a real threat. I felt we had wasted the opportunities we had in the second-half to take the game away from them. But this group has proven time and time again that they go right to the end, and they leave everything out on the pitch. They did that, and we managed to score the winner.”
Crosby also paid tribute to his squad who are without a number of key players due to injury. He added: “It has been a difficult week in terms of preparation, as you can see from the team that was selected. But we have always said that everyone has to be ready for an opportunity. It comes at different times, and when that opportunity pops up, you have to go and take it.
“We can’t fill the bench at the moment. We have some players playing out of position, but they give everything for this club. Absolutely everything, and that is a guarantee.”
Crosby also praised his side’s resilience saying: “They went out in the second-half and produced an incredible 45-minute performance, but I have just told them – and this not meant as any disrespect to Barrow – a team playing with more confidence may have put that game to bed in the first-half, and we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to come back.
“So, it is a massive lesson to us that we have to be more assertive and play with more quality in the first-half. But this team goes to the end and, in the end, we got the winner.”