EFL LEAGUE TWO

PORT VALE 1

FOREST GREEN 1

WATCHING his side earn their first away point of the embryonic League Two season, pragmatic Forest Green boss Mark Cooper insists he will only take a cursory glance at the league table after 15 games have been ticked off.

In their eighth game, Rovers climbed out of the drop zone with a dogged point at bottom of the table Port Vale, coming from a goal behind thanks to a second-half header from super-sub Omar Bugiel, his first touch of the game.

“I don’t think you get a true reflection of the table until fifteen or so games,” said Cooper, who saw his side end a four-game losing streak.

Finding their feet in League Two, Cooper hopes his side have now stopped the rot ahead of Friday night’s West Country derby against his former club Swindon Town.

“This is a start, but we have to maintain that commitment we showed in the Lincoln game and for periods today,” insisted Cooper. “We need to stop making silly mistakes and we will be fine.”

Happy enough with a point, Cooper felt his side could have taken all three.

He added: “We possibly could have won at the end, but there wasn’t a lot in the game first-half. A silly mistake again from our defenders and we found ourselves 1-0 down, so I decided to change it drastically at half-time, which gave us a bit of impetus and we were on the front-foot for the whole of the second-half, and with a little bit more care, we could have won the game.”

Stroud News and Journal:

Mark Cooper and Vale boss Michael Brown at the final whistle

Earlier, Chelsea loanee keeper Brad Collins, cleared by the FA of spitting allegations against Lincoln City on Tuesday night, retained his place in an unchanged team ahead of a fit again Sam Russell.

Sacrificing some of his team’s attacking flair, Cooper again chose a 4-4-2 formation with battering ram Shamir Mullings taking his place up top alongside Christian Doidge, but Rovers’ boss insists a change in style is necessary to try and win a game.

“We won’t steer too far away from our principles, but we are trying to play the best way to win a game.”

Rovers opened on the front-foot, with Doidge going close, but once again the league newcomers pressed the self-destruct button. Their frailties surfaced as Vale striker Dan Turner picked up on a scruffy Dale Bennett pass to stride on and comfortably beat Brad Collins on 21 minutes, his side’s first goal in seven games.

The goal knocked the stuffing out of Rovers, but they were given the chance to regroup when referee Martin Coy limped off four minutes after Turner’s goal.

Cooper had seen enough and brought on Liverpool loanee Toni Gomes and Drissa Traore at the break. Their impact perked Rovers up and it was another roll of the dice from the bench that allowed Cooper’s side to net parity with 22 minutes left on the clock. Captain Liam Noble arrowed over a free-kick and Doidge headed the ball back across goal for the predatory Bugiel to power his header into the back of the inviting net.

And Cooper was pleased with his tactical changes at the break, adding: “When you make substitutions you want them to make an impact, and all three did today.”

Rovers had their tails up and as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Noble had two free- kicks on the edge on the edge of the box in quick succession. The first flew agonisingly past the top corner and the second was cleared by on-loan Derby County goalkeeper Kelle Roos.

Attendance:  3,910

Away fans: 101

Referee: Martin Coy

RATINGS out of 5

B Collins ****

Bennett***

L Collins****

Roberts ***

Laird ****

Cooper ****

Noble ****

Randall ****

James ***

Doidge ****

Mullings ***

Subs Traore ***** (James 45) Gomes **** (Mullings 45) Bugiel **** (Randall 66)

Subs not used: Russell, Iacovitti, Stevens.

Bookings: Doidge 93

PORT VALE: Roos, Wilson, Smith, Anderson, Gunning, Denton (Whitfield 81 ), Tonge, De Fretias, Worrall, Pope, Turner (Harness 66)

Subs not used: Boot, Kay, Davis, Middleton, Reeves