Brian Brown heaped praise on his Vale side, as they blew away Ardeer in the Junior Cup.
After Callum Wardrope’s early opener for the hosts, the Vale found the perfect response – with doubles from Ross Cameron and Ethan Fuze securing cup progress on a good day at the office for the Vale.
Delighted boss Brown said: “Our first 10 or 15 minutes were pretty ropey. We lost a really poor goal.
“But after that we were in total control and it was probably the best we’ve played all season.
“All-in-all it was a good day. Getting back into it before half-time and leading before half-time shows the character the boys have.
“It’s not something I’ve ever doubted, we’ve come from behind loads of times, but we played some really good stuff before half-time. And Ardeer didn’t trouble us too much in the second-half.”
Ardeer took a third minute lead when a long throw was flicked on to Callum Wardrope to nod beyond Evan Currie.
It took until the half hour for the Vale to draw level, but when they did they quickly turned the game on its head.
First Ethan Furze found the net, and four minutes later Nicholas Pilkington was bundled over in the box with referee Michael Bonner pointing to the spot.
Ross Cameron fired home from 12 yards to give the Vale a half-time advantage.
Five minutes into the second-half Cameron was back on penalty duty, dusting himself down to roll home from the spot – after a foul that saw Ardeer’s Andrew McGregor pick up a second booking.
A bad day for the Ayrshire visitors got worse with 15 minutes remaining as they were reduced to nine men, with Jack Gibbons receiving a straight red for kicking out, before the Vale sealed the victory.
This time Cameron turned provider as his pass sent Ethan Furze clear, and the forward rounded keeper Dylan Champion and found the net – for the seventh time this season.
And the Vale boss added a final word for versatile vice-captain Lewis King, with the stalwart making his 150th Vale appearance on Saturday – surpassing dad Toby’s total.
He added: “You look for role models and it’s people like Lewis that the younger ones should be modelling themselves on.
“He never misses training and it doesn’t matter where I put him on the park, you always get 100 percent.
“He’s been exceptionally good this season and has been a standout in every game.
“150 games is excellent and he’s passed by his dad too which is a nice wee milestone for him too.”
Vale are back at Millburn this Saturday, as high-flying Thorn Athletic visit Millburn – kick off is 2pm.