'We got bashed up' - John Yems has no complaints after Port Vale beat Crawley

Port Vale earned a third straight win thanks to goals from Tom Conlon, Nathan Smith and David Warrall. Ashley Nadesan's fine header did bring the hosts level on the stroke of half-time but it wasn't enough to prevent the extension of Reds' winless run to three games. Recap the action as it happened here

"We got bashed up today," Yems admitted. "It was men against boys all over the pitch.

"All said and done, they deserved it more than us. They stood up to the plate. Our boys tried but weren't good enough on the day.

"They have come in and done a job on us. They deserved to win. We can sit here crying our eyes out or we can get onto the next one and have a better go."

See how we rated the players here

Yems said it was the first time in his tenure at the club that the opposition 'looked like they wanted it more'.

He added: "We didn't stand up to them. Credit to them. They are a strong side.

"The lads have been fantastic all season and we'll be good again but it was just one of them days. We didn't turn up, they did and they battered us.

"We should have got more crosses into the box as we've been practising them on the training ground. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't. He took it [the goal] well Naderz [Nadesan] but if you defend the way we did, you are going to let goals in."

Yems said 'everyone is tired' but 'we've got games to win'.

"Supporters want to see us win games. That's what we've got to start doing again.

"We've got 30 points to play for. At the end of the season, we will be where we deserve to be.

"We've been fighting every game we've been playing. We could do with quite a bit of personnel but you can't use that as an excuse.

"It's nice to be mid-table where you've got a few below you. If you're fighting for your life, you've got a lot more to fight for.

"Some of younger lads have got to learn how to get that consistency.

"If we survive this season as a football club, not just as a team, after all the Covid restrictions, we've done well."

Have you read?: Defensive frailties cost Reds in loss to Valiants