Clarke says Walsall must be better with the ball despite win at Port Vale

Posted Sunday, December 08, 2019 by PA

Walsall boss Darrell Clarke slammed his side’s performance with the ball despite condemning 10-man Port Vale to their first home league defeat this term with a 1-0 win.

Elijah Adebayo’s third goal of the season handed the visitors all three points.

But Clarke was less than impressed with how his players used the ball.

“Effort, endeavour and desire from my players was 10 out of 10 today,” admitted Clarke.

“But, the performance with the ball was one of out 10.

“I’ve got to be pleased but the same as I told my players in there, I like to give an honest assessment of the game.

“The back four was outstanding, but we’ve got to be better with the ball.

“That’s the one frustration for me today. If we played like we did against Chelsea then we could have opened them up.

“We’ve got to get better, we know that and my players know that.

“We’ve got to try and improve every day. It wasn’t a great performance today.

“Some of our passes were bombs, just look after the ball. We gave the ball away so many times.

“We’ll take the three points and we’ve got to give Port Vale credit because they’re a tough nut to crack at home.

“My demands are high and we’ve got to get better.”

Tom Conlon was sent off for an apparent elbow on Josh Gordon in the 82nd minute.

Vale boss John Askey was disappointed after watching his side lose at home.

He said: “We didn’t play well enough.

“I think the game was there to be won.

“You come out in the second half after having a little go at half-time and you concede a goal you should have defended better.

“It just wasn’t good enough today. We’ve got to be better.

“I think we missed a great chance of getting three points.

“There’s no excuses. On the day we just haven’t performed.”

And Askey was frustrated his side couldn’t reward a fantastic atmosphere at Vale Park.

After losing their second league game on the spin for the first time this term, he said: “It’s so frustrating because that’s the loudest I’ve heard the crowd.

“The atmosphere was amazing and it was like coming back to the old Vale in a way.

“It’s just disappointing that we couldn’t react to that and it’s bitterly disappointing for everyone.

“We’re not doing a great deal wrong because it’s our first loss at home.

“For whatever reason we didn’t perform and it’s vital we do well in these five games over December.

“This is the time you’ve really got to dig in. We’ve got to start getting results.”