Martin Tideswell: Just how did we manage to lose to Chesterfield?
Well Tuesday night was the dictionary definition of a game of two halves.
Despite what he said publicly, Chesterfield manager John Sheridan must have thought his team had pulled off the crime of the century to take all three points.
How a side can create so many clear-cut chances and not come away with at least a draw is beyond me.
By my reckoning, the final score should have been 6-3 to the Vale.
One thing's for sure, Craig Davies will have to file the tape from Tuesday's second half under 'video nasty'.
Strangely, he scored the most difficult chance that came his way on Tuesday. Let's hope those missed opportunities don't eat away at the lad's confidence.
Worryingly, we had 60 per cent of the possession in the first 45 minutes and dominated the second half, yet still managed only one goal.
I know it's all ifs, buts and maybes, but I said when I saw the team sheet that Micky Adams had got his selection wrong.
Sean Rigg should be the first pick striker at the moment because, in my book, he's a class above the others.
And he should be playing as a striker, not as a makeshift winger.
I'd also have started with Rob Taylor and I wouldn't have waited so long before introducing the substitutes when Vale seemed to run out of ideas after 75 minutes.
However, if I'm going to be positive – and I am – we created enough chances on Tuesday in a 30-minute spell to have beaten most teams in this league.
Hopefully, we can get back to winning ways tomorrow and keep the interest going until the last month of the season.
It was always going to be a tall order for this squad to make the top six, and their unbeaten run probably raised expectations unreasonably.
But with 18 games remaining, it's not beyond the realms of possibility.
However, we'd have to win about 10 of the remaining fixtures, so I'll stick with my original prediction that we'll finish 10th.
Project Micky can only be judged next Christmas when he's had a summer clear-out.
Until then, let's enjoy the ride and help to nurture the players we want to keep.
