“This is what it’s all about” – Darren Moore on the Arsenal cup game

Port Vale manager Darren Moore told the media that he was proud of his team despite their 2-0 League cup defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday evening.

The Valiants were defeated in front of the TV cameras and a bumper 16,326 crowd at Vale Park.

We didn’t sit back. We tried to put the pressure on them and turn the ball over and it forced them to produced some really good play to break through us…

Moore told the press: “We were just looking for that one chance. There was a couple of half chances when I thought we might have pulled the trigger or something dropped for us in the box but it wasn’t to be.

“We didn’t sit back. We tried to put the pressure on them and turn the ball over and it forced them to produced some really good play to break through us.”

He added: “For me it was a proud, proud evening. I did pause and look around and said ‘this is what it’s all about’. It’s whetted our appetite. We’ve got some work to do but nights like this are a credit to everybody.”

“The proudest moment for me was how the boys responded to going a goal behind. We didn’t lose our shape, or heads, and stayed compact.

“To go against that level of opponent and be in the game for long periods was fantastic.”