Winch fires a late saviour

GOALMOUTH SCRAMBLE . . . Peter Clarke tries to turn his man in a congested penalty area

JUST when you're starting to think that Athletic were about to suffer the ultimate punishment for wasting a hat-full of chances - again - up pops substitute Carl Winchester to rescue a point.

The visitors bossed last night's fixture for the whole of the first half and sizeable chunks of the second, but as the clock ticked towards the fourth minute of injury time, Steve Robinson's gutsy battlers were 2-1 down.

The match facts said it all - Athletic had 17 shots to Vale's five - but the hugely impressive Ollie Banks' fortunate opening goal had been doubled by Remie Steele and sub Rigino Cicilia, and Athletic were facing defeat.

However, the much-discussed Winchester, so lively and tormenting since hopping off the bench with 20 minutes left, rescued a point in the dying seconds and the celebrations that followed said so much.

Just how big a goal will Winchester's turn out to be? And I don't mean just for the player.

From a probable scene of doom and gloom post-match, the mood was spring-stepped, uplifted, and hopefully now the whole squad can carry that feeling and that momentum forward now.

The team will certainly need it in these continued troubled times, but Athletic proved again last night that that is exactly what they are - a team.

You only had to witness those last-gasp celebrations to see that.