CHRISTMAS came early for Steven Pressley’s side after the Sky Blues secured back-to-back away league wins for the first time this season.
Reda Johnson’s fifth goal of the season put the Sky Blues in front at the beginning of the second half at Port Vale on Saturday.
And in-form striker Gary Madine wrapped up the win in injury-time when he fired home from close range after Jim O’Brien had been denied by a smart save by Chris Neal after finding himself clean through on goal.
The win pushes the Sky Blues up to 14th in League and they now sit six points behind the play-offs.
“It was a great win,” said Pressley. “The first half was disappointing, we had a lot of possession but the final decision kept letting us down.
“In the second half we were better, the first goal came from a great cross and a great header from Reda. It was the bit of quality we had been lacking.
“One thing I couldn’t fault at all was the application and attitude, it was fantastic. I am really really pleased with that aspect.
“We kept it solid at the back, everyone knew their defensive duties. That defensive strategy was something we worked hard on during the week and it came off on Saturday.”
Pressley singled out several players for personal praise after the win including midfielder Adam Barton.
The 23-year-old has adapted to a new role as a defensive midfielder and put in another impressive performance in front of the back four at Port Vale.
“Adam Barton was very good,” Pressley added. “He built on Wednesday’s performance and really showed his defensive duties, something that may have been lacking in the past.
“I thought Webster was immense. For the last five or six games he has been our rock. Reda was immense too, since I moved him there he’s been outstanding, his desire to get into the box was great.
“Pennington was fantastic, that’s his third game and you can see he has been schooled excellently. He is a winner and his character is impeccable. They all contributed to Saturday’s win.”
