Régis Le Bris admitted that Port Vale ‘played with intensity and patience’ during the fifth round of the cup competition.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris heaped praise on Port Vale after they stunned his team in an FA Cup fifth-round tie played on Sunday afternoon.
He congratulated the League One side for their performance while speaking to BBC Sport after the intriguing encounter.
Port Vale booked a place in the quarter-finals of this season’s FA Cup after handing a narrow 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.
A goal from Ben Waine in the 28th minute was enough to dump out their more illustrious Premier League opponents on the day.
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Speaking to journalists after the loss, Le Bris said their opponents “played with intensity and patience” throughout the game.
He went on to blame his team’s exit on the youthfulness within his squad, arguing that they didn’t realise that going into the next round of the FA Cup was an “opportunity”.
“Congratulations to our opponents; they played with intensity and patience,” Le Bris said.
He added: “It was about the fighting spirit and they seized their opportunity. We had chances, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. We had enough to win the game but we didn’t show enough.
“We thought so [it was a chance to go deep into the competition]. They [the players] are young. Sometimes you do not realise what an opportunity it is.”
Other FA Cup Fifth-Round Results:
Wolves 1 vs Liverpool 3
Mansfield Town 1 vs Arsenal 2
Wrexham 2 vs Chelsea 4
Newcastle United 1 vs Manchester City 3
Fulham 0 vs Southampton 1
Port Vale 1 vs Sunderland 0
Leeds United 3 vs Norwich City 0
West Ham vs Brentford ( to be played on Monday)
