Match Thread: Port Vale v Colchester United

[TJHValiant]

Decent enough performance but we clearly lack a quality finisher or a guy who can manage that bit of magic. 
 

I thought Rodney was poor, didn’t do much and wasted what he was given. Looks like a conference player all too often. 

[PVFC764]

Vale huffed and puffed and came away with a point.

They tried but again another game where 3 points looked totally possible thrown away due to a defensive error switch off and the players not taking their chances.

 

[mikey]

We are mising Gibbons in a big way. I'll be glad to see him back.

[vale@rocks]

We simply dont have the finishers in this side. Same old we are very consistent at bossing games conceding late half goals and missing opportunities. 

[dazzerjames]

After 5 defeats a good response . 2 wins and a draw .Should have won , but the performance was much better than recent weeks. Lots of injuries so we will only get better. If Amoo and montano fit we would have won that today as both have a goal in them.

[eh up nah]

Very frustrating.

We are our own worst enemies at the back we are.

So, so soft 

[The man in the pub]

If you only score one goal then no matter how on top you are then you can always  concede one. Our defence not solid enough to totally shut teams out.

[TylerB]

 

Decent point and performance overall against a decent side. Put Monty in the side who's our form man at the moment and we perhaps win that game. That said, we desperately need more going forward. It's unfair to rely on Rodney to score most of our goals as he's still a rookie that's learning on the job. There's not many goals in that midfield of Oyeleke, Conlon and Joyce today either, or whoever we play there actually, and we absolutely miss Taylor's goal threat from midfield.

[Santa]

A good team takes that start and goes on to win the game. It's absolutely criminal to not go on and win that. Two points chucked in the bin.

We aren't ruthless enough. If a team doesn't hand us 3 or 4 soft goals on a plate then we struggle. We need to grow a pair in front of goal. A good side has that game sewn up and put to bed around the hour mark.

Pretty angry with that me. 

[CambridgeDon]

How didn't we win this? Great approach play but, Rodney's goal apart, little or no finish. It would help if we had proper goal scorers on the pitch instead of warming their bottoms on the bench. All midfield and just 3 shots on target compared to their five. We just can't expect to win if we don't play our forwards. 

[Santa]

Two other gripes: 1. why make a sub and then three minutes later use another sub. We've got 5 subs to make and 3 stoppages in which to make them. I know there's no danger of Askey using all five in a match but at least have a think.

2. Was there a children's party or something going on in the Lorne Street stand during the match?

[Biddulph_PV]

Daft as it sounds, I thought Mills played well otherwise. But we’ve got into a really nasty habit of not taking chances and silly defensive lapses all during the same game. It cost us last season and it’s the same this.

I honestly don’t know what the answer is as most gave 7/10 performances today, it’s just the detail. But it’s been going on far to long to say it will change by itself.

[Valiant62]

People keep going on about lack od goals, sometimes you have to graft for the goal to capitalise on your dominance which we did today. The thing I’m mad about is switching off at the back (specifically Mills) to undo all the hard work, absolutely maddening.

[Joe B]

Ok. Infuriating.

Our build up play was lovely, with Rodney performing well again. Hurst was very dangerous with his crossing and Conlon and Manny were dominating the midfield. We created lots of good chances, which is what I've been wanting to see, and the first 45 was the best of the season.

However, for all our lovely play, it took a moment of long-range brilliance to break their resistance. We only had 3 shots on target to their 5. Same old problems. It's all well and good combining brilliantly in the middle third but if you don't get shots on target, you don't score many.

They made a triple sub and Folivi began to cause problems. Askey failed to react at all to this massive switch in personnel, expecting the good work of the first hour to continue despite this seismic shift. Of course, our poor defending issues were exposed, and a simple ball over the top does us in. For all our tiki-taka, we get caught out by Sunday League play, and Scott Brown is making 'get beaten by a shot across me' a bit of a trademark at present.

We didn't really threaten again. 2 subs, spaced three minutes apart to take up 2 sub windows as Santa said, is another example of our poor game management. 442 didn't work as we started to lose the midfield, and the game meandered into a draw with neither side threatening.

Classic Vale. Great signs undone by schoolboy mistakes. Poor defending, poor game management, and an inability to convert good possession and build up play into shots on target.

That's why we're mid-table, with 1 win in 7. We're not far off, but the same issues plague us and need sorting.

[darren1810]

12 minutes ago, LancyTony said:

OR...failure to convert chances!

Did we have that many ?

He's barely made a save and took a worldie to beat him .

We huffed and puffed really in an okay performance