Darren Moore was delighted that Port Vale ended their Tuesday night hoodoo by beating promotion rivals Bradford.
First-half goals from Lorent Tolaj and Mitch Clark earned the Valiants their first league victory on a Tuesday night since March 2022.
It was Bradford’s third loss in five games and they are only ahead of Vale on goal difference in second place.
Port Vale boss Moore said: “I’m just delighted to get the three points. We wanted to continue the momentum from Saturday playing against a really good team and to put in that performance.
“We needed to arrest this Tuesday night thing – that was big for us. I only found out last week that it had been that long, so it was good to put it to bed.
“It’s not a stat to be proud of so I’m so pleased for the players with their commitment and their drive. We asked them to be relentless in their work and I thought every single one of them was.”
Swiss striker Tolaj scored Vale’s first after 11 minutes with a bending finish into the far corner before Clark headed home a cross by 17-year-old Jack Shorrock.
Moore added: “We wanted to start quickly tonight and the first 20 minutes we were excellent. Lorent’s goal gave us a real platform and I thought Mitch was excellent with the way he makes his run inside the wing-back and he gets a good contact.
“To get the two-goal lead made it a perfect start and it was just about maintaining it.”
Bradford, backed by over 2,300 away fans, showed more urgency in the second half. Brad Halliday went close before Richard Smallwood had a late penalty saved by Ben Amos after Clark brought down Calum Kavanagh.
Bradford manager Graham Alexander said: “The two goals made it very difficult. We haven’t done that away from home where we’ve been really good defensively.
“I thought we were a little bit hesitant in our attacking play when we had good opportunities, taking an extra touch and not taking a shot or a cross when we could.
“We started the game really well but goals change games. Up until they scored, I was quite comfortable.
“The goals were out of character for us. They were reasonably cheap from our perspective, I believe we had possession both times and we’ve turned it over.
“We have to take it on the chin. I thought we played exactly as I hoped we would in the second half.
“We asked about top teams always showing the right characteristics, whether you get the result or not.
“We obviously missed the penalty and could have got a goal back. That would have made the last seven or eight minutes interesting.”
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