Vale In Paint Pot Heaven

Port Vale 3-1 Stockport County

Vale are through to the Quarter-Finals of the prestigious Paint Pot Trophy after seeing off Stockport in style last night at Vale Park.

Three goals in the opening thirteen minutes, courtesy of Lewis Haldane, Louis Dodds and Marc Richards took Vale a step closer to a date at Wembley. Our League 1 opponents pulled a goal back later in the first half, but were ultimately no match for the rampant Valiants.

People may well snigger at this competition, I know I do, but a Cup Final at Wembley is a Cup Final at Wembley, and shouldn’t be beneath any lower league club.

Speaking to The Sentinel after the game Striker Marc Richards admitted that he hasn’t been in the best form of his career in recent weeks, but was pleased with his own performance last night, offering this:

‘Last night was the first time for a few weeks that I felt good in a game. I’ve played a lot of games and it’s taken its toll in the last few weeks and my performances haven’t been up to scratch. I know that myself and I don’t need telling but hopefully I’ve put that right.’

Richards was hauled off to loud applause on Saturday after his lacklustre display in the goalless draw with Bournemouth, and has been subject to a fair amount of criticism from fans this season, last season, and the season before that. There is no doubt that he has the ability to score goals, but question marks against his application in some games are certainly justified, but there can be no doubt that he can – when he puts his mind to it – be a big asset for Vale.

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