Darren Moore admitted his Port Vale side were left with a sour taste in their mouth after their 1-0 defeat at home to Barrow.
Vale missed the chance to fire themselves into the automatic League Two promotion places after their third loss of the season to the Bluebirds.
Ben Jackson scored the only goal of the game as Andy Whing’s side made it five straight games without defeat.
But the visitors withstood a second-half onslaught as Moore’s side were thwarted by inspired Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman and also hit the woodwork three times.
“It was a tough one to take,” admitted Moore. “The boys are disappointed and frustrated really.
“I thought they did enough second half to get an equaliser but the upright kept us out tonight.
“The feeling in the camp with the players is a bit of frustration.
“We had two bites at the free-kick when they scored. We could have done better with the header and then to close the ball down.
“From the way we’ve gone about our business this season it was a soft goal really.
“We felt if we got an early goal in the second half it would be harder for them to hold on, but we couldn’t get that all important goal.
“In hindsight, yes (I’d have started the second half team). After the game finished and you look at the balance, yeah. We need to look at why the first half was so flat.
“We didn’t we get that spark? Why was it such a flat 45 minutes? That’s for me to analyse.
“We have to learn from that. Within the next 72 hours we have another important game and when we wake up in the morning we have to put this one behind us.
“We certainly don’t want a performance like we had in the first half on Saturday.”
Barrow have really turned the corner under Whing, who has restored a resilience in the squad.
They have now gone four away games without losing, their longest run since December 2023, with two of those 2-2 draws from 2-0 behind.
And Whing admitted: “We rode our luck a little bit in the second half but we earned that luck in terms of how hard the lads worked and how well they defended.
“I thought Paul Farman was outstanding in goal.
“Port Vale couldn’t get to grips with our shape first half. We got a lot of joy.
“I think we sat a bit deep in the second half. But the lads dug in and thoroughly deserved what they got in the end.
“I thought we were more under pressure than the Notts County game. They really put it on you.
“I thought the lads stood up to it really well. Everyone to a man was excellent. They defended their absolute socks off.
“We’ve asked them to put their bodies on the line, get their heads on the end of things and they’ve done that in abundance. That’s why we won tonight.”
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
Ewan Otoo poured cold water on Livingston’s title ambitions in the Scottish Championship by netting the winner in struggling Dunfermline’s 1-0 win.Three points for the visitors would have been enough to lift them above Ayr United and within five of pace-setters Falkirk, but they were unable to take the chance.After back-to-back wins they were brought back to earth at East End Park, whe...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender