Jim Bentley wants Morecambe to turn draws into wins after Port Vale stalemate

Posted Sunday, February 04, 2018 by PA

Morecambe manager Jim Bentley called on his side to start taking three points from games after they played out an entertaining 0-0 draw at Port Vale.

Both sides battled hard, with the visitors having good chances to break the deadlock in the first half before Vale came close to grabbing the win late on.

Bentley was pleased with his team’s first-half display and thought a draw was a fair result.

“It was a good point but on another day we’d take three. Having said that, we were the better side in the first half and the more threatening and they were probably the better side in the second half.

“But we still had the odd chance here and there. All in all it was a fair result. It was an entertaining result but we need to start putting three points on the board instead of one.

“We looked at Port Vale, who invested this week, and you’re thinking what you’re going to get in terms of who will play for them.

“We knew where the threats lay. Tom Pope is one of the best at this level and he was a handful all day, but we coped well.

“It was a battle but I thought it was important we got something after last week’s killer blow.

“We came here to try to win it, but it was important we didn’t lose. That’s not to say we came here to set up to take a 0-0, but the positive is we’ve kept a clean sheet.”

Vale boss Neil Aspin believe his side were lucky to be in the game at half-time, but felt they could have taken all three points near the end.

He said: “I got what I wanted in terms of a clean sheet, but obviously we need three points which will give everyone a lift.

“But with the respective positions of the two clubs in the league, it was absolutely vital we didn’t lose the game.

“In the first half they had better chances and we were fortunate to be level at the break. They had a couple of opportunities where they should have scored.

“But in the second half we were better and we pushed to try to get the winning goal and on another day we might have got the breakthrough.

“We’re in a relegation fight, all the games are unfortunately going to be like today – they’ll be tense and there’ll be times when your heart is in your mouth – but we’ve got to keep battling.

“In a relegation fight you’ve got to roll your sleeves up, you’ve got to show character and determination and if you don’t win games you’ve got to make sure you pick up points and keep adding to your total.”