A change in formation and playing in that wide left and the waine train is back! Be interesting to see if he has done enough to get back into a league match
Waine had the ball in the net early on for the Valiants, but his header was ruled out for offside.
Four players – two from each team – were given yellow cards midway through the first half after a melee broke out following an off-the-ball incident.
Rovers had a great chance to take the lead just after the half-hour mark, with Ellis Harrison getting on the end of Bryant Bilongo’s cross before seeing his effort well saved by Ben Amos.
Down at the other end, Waine blazed a shot over the crossbar from George Hall’s perfectly-weighted delivery just before half-time.
But the New Zealand forward made no mistake within two minutes of the restart, firing the ball home after latching onto a pass in behind from Connor Hall.
Ben Waine couldn’t get on the pitch for Port Vale for three months… now he’s scored in consecutive matches after pocketing the winner in the FA Cup against Bristol Rovers 🚂 #FlyingKiwispic.twitter.com/guPyKYtp4J
Port Vale manager Darren Moore has enthused about New Zealand international forward Ben Waine after his match-winning goal took the club through to the third round of the English FA Cup.
“I really want him to have all the accolades here because he epitomises a player that has come in, started, tried to hit the ground running,” Moore said after Vale’s 1-0 win against Bristol Rovers.
The 28-cap All White has been struggling to land a place in the Football League One club’s starting line-up but he was given his chance to perform in two cup ties within a five-day spell.
“It didn’t quite work for him but my goodness, his work off the ball and then away from it — from all the watchful eyes that’s not been on him, he’s just kept going,” Moore said.
“Over the last three or four weeks, we’ve seen a real change, not in terms of his temperament, his mentality, but just his cleanness really.
“Since he’s come in, we’ve had a couple of in-house games, he’s scored goals and he’s come back in and capitalised on his opportunity.”
Well he’s kept them in the cup. Cup run always comes in handy when the coaching kpis come up at the end of the season! Especially if the league is a bit hit or miss.
It’s interesting that he’s found this little resurgence as a left-winger rather than a striker. He did play a bit out wide (in a front three, same as he did here) earlier in the season when he was still in the rotation so it’s not entirely new. But that wide role seems to suit him. Gives him more room to run, utilising his pace and energy, without putting him in direct competition with the bruising centre-backs who’d otherwise been shutting him down. And perhaps playing out wide also took the pressure off him to score goals, ironically making him more capable of scoring goals.
Who knows, this could be the way forward for him... it wouldn’t do his All Whites status any harm to show that he’s a genuine option in multiple positions. Of course, these were both cup games with rotated sides and it remains to be seen if he can snap his league drought because that Bradford City game got postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Considering how PVFC have not won any of their last eight league games, only scoring once during that down spell, you’d hope a bloke who just offered up goals in consecutive games, and clearly has a point to prove (as well as a hugely commendable attitude) will get an opportunity off the back of that. We’ll find out in a few days.
His attributes are much more suited to a forward playing wide or one of an interchangeable front 3, or a wide player who crosses or moves into the box or runs onto a through ball.
He could definitely play a conventional or old fashioned RM/LM role too.
He’s never a player that should be playing in a static role muscling up against a big CB. He’s strong enough for League one, but it’s a waste of his attributes. He likes to move. He can certainly play back to goal and distribute well, but endless aerial duels back to goal is yeh, not his strong suit. He shouldn’t be deputising for Wood in this role any more than Randall should.
Waine starts, Gauci benched, and the team five points clear in last place draws with second place Luton. No slight on Gauci, but If what you're doing isn't working, try something different. I've never been a Waine fan, but he did score goals for the Nix, and that's kinda important. Good luck to him.
Just our luck that the successor to Wood ends up finding success on the wing where we're relatively well-stocked. Still, good on Waineo!
I think he’s a different winger though. He’s a strong wing forward. I don’t actually think we’re well stocked for classical wingers. Only Rogerson and maybe Just can. But he and the others are more wide 10s!
All the others are midfielders who are more likely to play CM than CF. Singh perhaps a forward occasionally, but never a CF. Randall is similar I guess, but Ben’s better in the air.
Being out wide is a good starting position for him to move centrally or to find some room to make a run or space to shoot. It’s like Jonah getting a run up😉!
Also mental how some teams bounce around. Luton’s speed and scintillating attacking made them the darlings of the PL not so long ago and here they are in League One.
Heh, and he’s won the free kick he scores from there nicely too. Good experience. Sees the player jogging up behind him as he releases the pass, bumps into him and goes down. Scores from the free kick!
Check the slomo replay.
And that comments man hilarious!
‘Just had a funny turn and I need to sit down. Do you know why? Vale have scored a goal. It’s…woh, oh dear, this is the stuff dreams are made of scoring! I’m not sure we’ve seen enough of this!.’
