Port Vale 1-0 Reading post-match reaction – “deserving winners!

Reaction from Andy Crosby and Reading manager Ruben Selles as Port Vale won 1-0 at Vale Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Valiants bounced back from their 7-0 opening day loss with a home win thanks to a second-half strike from midfielder Ben Garrity while goalkeeper Connor Ripley saved a first-half Andy Carroll penalty.

Port Vale manager Andy Crosby

It was a contrasting game. We were really passive in the first half and allowed them to dominate the ball. The team shape, we were too stretched and we didn’t allow ourselves to get any pressure on the ball at the top end of the pitch. We sorted out one or two things at half-time, we tweaked one or two things. I thought the second-half performance was incredible from every single one of them, both with and without the ball. And we were deserving winners.

In the second half we moved ten yards higher up the pitch, which enabled us to create higher pressure on the ball and win more balls higher towards their goal and transition from higher areas on the pitch. I thought some of our second-half play was a credit to the players. Without looking backwards it was obviously a difficult start last week but the response from the players and staff has been really good.

Reading manager Ruben Selles

The problem came in the second-half when we lost our will to play football. And after the goal, our performance was not acceptable – nowhere near what it should be. It is a bad performance from us here today. We need to correct this as quick as possible. We are disappointed with the performance, and what my team showed today – that level is not acceptable. We need to know that.