Scott Brown acknowledges that Vale have to find a way of improving their form on home soil in Sky Bet League Two, but he is adamant he and his teammates deserved a point against Carlisle United on Saturday afternoon.
The Valiants were forced to play over half of the game with a one-man disadvantage after Ricky Miller was sent off on 41 minutes, but they defended well for large periods against an in-form opposition.
Connor Simpson prodded the ball beyond Brown late on to ensure that all three points were Carlisle’s, and the Vale goalkeeper was left feeling bitterly disappointed with the result.
He said: “It’s really disappointing because we put our bodies on the line and worked really hard, but then Carlisle get a double deflection goal in the last 10 minutes.
“We had a great chance with Connell right at the end too, but that’s just how things are going at the moment.
“With us having 10 men they were always going to have a lot of the play, so if they’d have bent one in the top corner from 25 yards you’d hold your hands up.
“However, when it’s a double deflection like it was, it’s difficult to take. A 0-0 draw wouldn’t have been a bad result with a man disadvantage, and then you hope you can nick a goal from a set play or something.
“It is hard to take, but the fans who clapped us off at the end showed that they were right behind us and the gaffer.
“They appreciate the effort we put in, but we can only apologise for the fact we didn’t get the result today.”
Vale now face the trip to Newport County on Tuesday evening and they will be looking to record a successive victory on the road, and Brown wants to reward the supporters who make the trip.
One man who could feature against his former club is Mark Harris, and Brown was impressed by the striker during his debut on Saturday. He has also reserved praise for Adam Crookes, and he’s hoping both can play their part at Rodney Parade.
He said: “I don’t think Adam needs any advice at the minute because he’s been absolutely fantastic. He’s really comfortable on the ball, he’s a good one-on-one defender and he’s been brilliant.
“He deserves a lot of credit, as does Mark Harris who came on up front today and did really well. He’s got a yard of pace and he held the ball up too.
“His introduction gave us a different dimension with his pace in behind. In training he’s looked lively, he’s a good finisher and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of him.
“You want the next game to be coming around as quickly as possible. We owe the fans because they travel home and away, but we know our home form is something we need to turn around.
“We can only concentrate on Tuesday at the moment before we think about Saturday.”