Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke felt his side dropped two points in the draw against Bolton Wanderers but was pleased at getting a clean sheet against a side he feels will be up towards the top of League One this season.
Wanderers could have taken the lead early on but Dapo Afolayan's effort was parried wide by Jack Stevens. But the Whites were reduced to 10 men when Ricardo Santos was shown a second yellow card.
Santos was shown his first following Nathan Smith going to ground from a corner. But controversy followed with his second booking by referee Ross Joyce which appeared to be harsh after Ellis Harrison appeared to go to ground easily.
After the break, Aaron Morley called Stevens into action with a fantastic save. The Valiants were the more dominant side but Trafford came to their aid with a sublime stop from Harrison as Wanderers held out to claim a point.
The Vale boss felt his side created enough chances to get on the scoresheet but were not able to take them as he felt they dropped two points at home. But he was pleased to keep out a Bolton side he feels will be at the top end of League One this campaign.
Speaking to Stoke-on-Trent Live, Clarke said: "There are positives and negatives with every game. Jack pulled an incredible save off early in the game but we were on the front foot at 11 v 11.
“The game was pretty evenly balances. They looked dangerous from set plays but we looked dangerous, albeit lacking that final ball at times.
“We had a couple of opportunities ourselves and then, when they were down to ten men, we were just looking for that bit more quality in the final third.
“We have created enough chances to have scored a couple of goals but for different reasons that’s not quite fallen for us. But we will take the positives, a clean sheet against a team that I think will be right up there this season.
“It was a great crowd in, our fans were fantastic. So, a really positive day other than potentially two points dropped."
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