After scoring his first Vale goal in spectacular style following a neat one-two with Tom Pope, Manny Oyeleke was delighted to get off the mark, but he insists getting the win was the most important thing.
Ben Whitfield fired home Vale’s other goal as they cruised to a 2-0 triumph over Northampton Town, and Oyeleke was impressed by the performance of his teammates.
He said: “The main thing that I’m happy with is that we got the three points, but I’m also pleased that I helped the team get them with a goal because I don’t score many.
“It’s good to get off to a good start in that respect early on into the season, and hopefully we can get more wins under our belts now too.
“I need to see the goal back because I thought Ricky was going to block it when I took the shot, so it’s lucky that it went in.
“I’m obviously happy to get on the scoresheet, but the most important thing is getting three points. I would’ve been upset if I’d scored in a loss or draw.
“A few of us were saying before the game and during the warm-up that we had a good feeling about today, and I think we had a bit more energy, so we didn’t make it easy for Northampton.
“That’s something we’d been lacking in recent weeks, so I’m happy that we could follow up last weekend’s performance with three points today.”
With the win ending a four-game winless run, the midfielder is hoping that the Valiants can kick on now and continue picking up results in Sky Bet League Two.
Neil Aspin’s men travel to Gresty Road to face Crewe Alexandra next weekend, but whilst Oyeleke is looking forward to the derby, he wants to ensure the squad remain fully focused.
“You’ve just to keep on doing the right things, but sometimes we’ve been unlucky with set pieces and refereeing decisions,” he said.
“Today everything just went for us and we did all we could to get the win, so we’re happy with how we played and everything went our way.
“I’m excited, but at the same time it’s just another game. We don’t want to go overboard with it, it’s still a match that’s worth three points.
“However, we want to make sure we put in a good performance and get a win for the fans as I know it means a lot to them.”