Neil Aspin hails ‘perfect tonic’ as Port Vale bounce back at Oldham

Port Vale manager Neil Aspin lauded the “perfect tonic” for his players after they sealed a 1-0 victory at Oldham.

Vale were looking to bounce back from three consecutive league defeats – most recently 6-2 at home to leaders Lincoln – and Tom Pope’s first-half penalty saw them achieve their goal.

Aspin’s men forced a stunning early save when Nathan Smith’s six-yard volley was somehow beaten out by Oldham keeper Daniel Iversen.

The winner came after 37 minutes when home defender Peter Clarke needlessly barged into Luke Hannant and, from the resulting spot-kick, Pope sent Iversen the wrong way.

Oldham dominated the second half, but Vale stayed resolute and there were few clear-cut chances.

Aspin said: “We knew Oldham would put us under pressure and, regardless of the result, I told the players I wanted 100-per-cent effort and commitment, especially after (the Lincoln game) last week.

“There might be poor performances, and I’m responsible for those, but you could see that the spirit in the dressing room is good.

“We played three centre-backs because I felt we would need to tackle, block and head everything today. When our backs were against the wall, all three put in a shift.

“I don’t think we’ve had any luck at times this season, but we got the rub of the green and did a good job.

“It hasn’t been an easy week for the players because there’s no excuse for conceding six goals in one game and it’s a blow to the pride, but today is the perfect tonic.

“You are only ever one bad week from being under pressure or one good week from being in form, but the bigger picture is 46 games and you have to fight back and pick up results.”

Oldham boss Frankie Bunn said: “You can’t legislate for the penalty we conceded. I don’t know what Peter Clarke was thinking when he made the challenge because the ball was running out of play.

“That put us on the back foot and Peter will have to hold his hands up, but in the second half we did everything but score.

“Our spirit and attitude were good. We kept going, but we lacked that bit of quality again and there have been too many games when we felt we should have got something.

“The referee didn’t help because he was poor at times and we definitely should have had a penalty in the first half.

“It’s no excuse, though. We were without one or two players who would have given pace and power up front, but we need to be more clinical.

“We are one of many sides who are struggling at home, but there are fighters in the dressing room and they will come back strong.”