Soccer
Jon Brady urges Port Vale to cut out costly errors after loss at Swindon
Jon Brady urged Port Vale to cut out costly mistakes after a 3-1 defeat to Swindon left them winless in League Two.
Vale took an early lead through Oliver Lynch’s first goal in professional football but were quickly pegged back by Aaron Drinan’s equaliser.
It stayed that way until 20 minutes from time when Ben Middlemas scored a brilliant volley to put Swindon in front.
Then in the fourth minute of added time, Louis Millard added a third to seal victory for Ian Holloway’s side.
Brady said: “Up until they scored a wonder strike, there was nothing in the game, and then we implode with a silly action at the end for their third.
“They were asking massive questions of us, loading our box, hitting diagonals, physically asking questions of us. We stood up in the first half and weathered the storm and I made some changes at half time to bring on some more physical players.
“It’s hugely disappointing for the fans and I thank them for travelling, they deserved better than that. There’s certainly some things we need to iron out and iron out quickly.”
Vale got off to a dream start when Lynch headed in powerfully from Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel’s cross in the second minute.
But Swindon were soon level, equalising from a corner 10 minutes later. Jack Thomson delivered a dangerous set piece which fell kindly for Drinan to smash home from close range.
The Robins thought they had scored again when Ollie Palmer slotted home after a quick throw-in but the referee ordered it to be retaken.
Just past the hour mark, Vale were appealing for a penalty when Ben Garrity’s shot seemed to strike the arm of a Swindon defender but nothing was given.
Middlemas lit up the county ground 20 minutes from time with a stunning left-footed volley from the edge of the area to put Swindon in front for the first time in the match.
Millard added the third in stoppage time with Vale leaving big gaps in defence as they sought an equaliser.
Victorious manager Ian Holloway said: “In all truth, going one-nil down was the best thing that could have happened. It sounds weird, but that’s a fantastic goal from them.
“But it didn’t affect us. In fact, it made us angry. In fact, it made us come back and believe we’re going to do something. And I think that showed.
“There was a determination about us and that is what we obviously want to breed and learn. And you don’t lose; you learn. And we learnt an awful lot on Saturday about ourselves.”
