Adams upbeat despite cup exit

Port Vale boss Micky Adams was proud of his side despite seeing two late goals end the club's FA Cup exploits at Sheffield United.

Tom Pope had given Vale a 33rd-minute lead with his 21st goal of the season but Shaun Miller equalised in the 90th minute before then firing a winner deep into stoppage time on Saturday. Adams, in what was his own return to Bramall Lane 18 months after being sacked by the South Yorkshire club, said: "I'm really proud of my players. We've come to Sheffield United, who are in the top four of their division, and we've gone toe-to-toe with them. Unfortunately we couldn't see the job through. "We think we're a decent side and we've had a chance to showcase ourselves on a big stage. I told them before the game that whatever happened I've been proud of their performances this season. "Particularly in the first half, we played really well. It changes on a referee's decision. I think everybody could see he'd been overruled by his linesman on a corner decision. It quite clearly came off a Sheffield United head and it should have been a goal kick. In the resulting passage of play, they scored an equaliser. "We've got bigger fish to fry. I know that a tie against a big club would have helped in terms of finance but another game complicates matters. We've got a big December and a replay might have got in the way."