Page hails Vale work ethic

Port Vale assistant manager Robert Page hailed his side's hard work and effort after their 1-0 away win at Tranmere.

Liam Ridehalgh, who was making his debut after joining on emergency loan from Huddersfield, was given his marching orders just after the half-hour mark for pulling back Chris Birchall in the area. Owain fon Williams saved the resulting spot kick from Tom Pope but could do nothing to stop Chris Lines' superb second-half free-kick which won Vale the points. And Page, in charge after Micky Adams underwent a hip operation this week, was disappointed with the golden chances missed by Pope and substitute Lee Hughes. "Sometimes it's harder playing against 10 men and Tranmere really came into it in the second half," he said. "We could have used the ball a bit better at times but there are lots of positives because we have won the game and kept a clean sheet. "I think what we pride ourselves in is our workrate and effort. "When you grind teams down and have the quality to go on and win games shows that you are acclimatising to the division. "Once you get some momentum going it is important you keep it going. "The boys were magnificent defensively and they put their bodies on the line having come under some criticism. "Our fitness is a fantastic attribute but you know you are in for a tough game at Tranmere. We recognised that pace would hurt them and we came out of the traps well and knew what we wanted to do. "Overall it is a great result for us but a pleasing performance as well."