Darren Moore admitted a moment of magic from Ronan Curtis was Port Vale’s “get out of jail card” as they rescued a 1-1 draw at Cheltenham with virtually the last kick of the game.
The League Two leaders trailed to George Miller’s 53rd-minute strike, but substitute Curtis thumped in a shot from the edge of the box in the fourth minute of added time to keep Vale top of the table.
“It has a feel of three points rather than one because it’s a fantastic strike by Ronan and it almost feels like a win,” Moore said.
“But it was almost a get out of jail card because I didn’t think the way the game went, that we had enough of the ball tonight.
“I didn’t think we capitalised in the final areas of the pitch, so I was disappointed with that and it took a bit of individual brilliance from Ronan to salvage a point from the game.”
Cheltenham’s fans were incensed as referee Scott Tallis played more than the three added minutes indicated at the end of the 90, but Moore felt it was more than justified.
“I thought it was incredible that they only put three up because of the amount of time-wasting that went on,” he said.
“We made five changes and there were injuries so I don’t know where three minutes came from.
“When the home fans were remonstrating, I just thought it should have been a lot more than three minutes anyway and we got our just rewards in the end with a fantastic strike.”
After a cagey first half, the deadlock was broken by Miller’s fourth goal of the season.
Sam Stubbs’ header from Luke Young’s corner was turned onto the bar by Connor Ripley before Arkell Jude-Boyd’s follow-up was cleared off the line, but Miller pounced from close range.
Both sides struggled for cohesion during the opening 45 minutes, with Nathan Smith heading Tom Sang’s cross wide in the 19th minute.
Sang reached a ball into the box ahead of goalkeeper Joe Day, but Stubbs made a sliding block in the box to clear a minute later.
Joel Colwill’s diving header grazed the post for the home side just before the break.
Miller’s opening goal sparked an improvement from Vale, who were close to levelling through Rico Richards, but Day blocked well in the 66th minute.
Cheltenham looked to have held out, but Curtis smashed in after good work from Ruari Paton on the left.
Robins boss Michael Flynn said he was proud of his team’s effort against the table-toppers.
“I am obviously gutted for the boys because they put in a hell of a shift and it was a big improvement from Saturday (2-0 FA Cup second-round defeat at Salford),” Flynn said.
“We have just played the best team, or one of the best teams in the league. They have quality everywhere, they are strong and they don’t give up.
“I don’t think we got the rub of the green in the end, from the ref, but I am more than proud of my boys.”
