Paul Hurst breathes sigh of relief as Shrewsbury hold on for win at Port Vale

Paul Hurst voiced his relief as his Shrewsbury side propelled themselves seven points clear of the League One drop zone with a 2-1 victory at Port Vale.

Town took an early lead through Dan Udoh and doubled their tally early in the second half when Tom Bloxham struck.

Teenager Baylee Dipepa hit his first professional goal to reduce arrears, but it proved too little too late for Darren Moore’s strugglers.

“I’m relieved more than anything,” said Hurst, whose side had suffered back-to-back defeats before this confidence-boosting win.

“We were 2-0 up and gave away a poor goal. You can’t leave a player unmarked in the area. We made the end of the game a lot more nervy than it needed to be.

“We knew Port Vale would come at us. They had a response first half so we expected it.

“We got a second goal and knew they wouldn’t give up. But we certainly made the end of the game more nervy than it needed to be.

“I don’t think that we gave too many chances away from a lot of things.

“Marko (Marosi) made three really big saves from memory and he was credit as to why we went in ahead at half-time.

“He’s done very well since I’ve come to the club. An experienced keeper and seems to enjoy the big moments. He delivered some of those today.

“It was nice to go ahead early because it’s something we’ve worked on and identified.

“From where I was I thought it had gone in but there was a delayed reaction. It’s something we’ve worked on so I was delighted.”

Vale, who have not won so far in 2024, are seven points adrift of safety with time running out.

Boss Moore said: “It’s a hurdle we have to overcome. No matter how you dress it up, it’s been a mental thing with us in terms of conceding early and then taking a backwards step and giving ourselves a mountain to climb.

“As the game goes on, we grow into it. That was a disappointment because when you concede a goal very early it can shift the momentum of the game.

“We were holding on in the first half, we showed more impetus and got into the game in the second half.

“We had chances to go and win the match. It’s a small positive that we got the chances to go and win the game.

“We’re not talking about Vale not having chances to score. As long as that continues I believe the players we’ve got will score.

“On the flip side we need to show more concentration, togetherness, to make sure at all costs from set plays we get the first contacts and defend the second phases better until the ball’s out of the danger zone.”