Port Vale gained a point on there relegation rivals at the weekend with an away draw at Southend.
The Valiants were eight minutes from picking up only their second away win of the season on Saturday against a club battling for promotion.
Defender Nathan Smith spoke exclusively to Valiant PlayerHD about the team’s performance: “I thought we performed well, we stuck together as a team. We always knew it was going to be a hard battle, and to come away with a point is not too bad considering the position we are in now.”
He continued: “Picking up points is vital at this end of the season, and I thought that the team battled well and the boys did well today.”
Chris Eagles scored his first goal for the club since joining in January, but Anthony Wordsworth rescued a point for the Seasiders only eight minutes from time.
Taking into account the nature of the draw, Smith is disappointed not to walk away with all three points: “We will probably look at it as points lost as a back four, we always strive to keep clean sheets and with eight minutes to go you would like to think that we can do that. But a point is a point and every point counts.”
Despite losing out on the spoils, Vale gained ground on the teams around them as the battle to stay in the Sky Bet League One hots up: “That puts it into a better perspective, to get a point and for others to have dropped points is what we need at this end of the season. Every point gained on the teams above is a great point.”
Vale face one of their relegation rivals next weekend as Swindon Town visit Vale Park sitting one place and point above the Burslem club, and the 20-year old goes into the contest in high spirits: “We are confident. We look amongst ourselves and we feel that we have enough to do what it takes to stay up, and as long as we perform like this every week then I am sure that we will definitely be alright.”