With a goal and a sending off, Sean Stewart had an eventful time against Hawick Royal Albert on Saturday.

He then watched on as his team-mates fought back from 3-1 down to win 4-3, while playing with a man down. The midfielder heaped praise on them for not giving up when the chips were down.

 He said: “I thought the boys were outstanding the way the never gave in and kept fighting until the end despite being a player short. They showed great character to get the win. I thought it could have gone from bad to worse.

“Obviously when a team concedes again as well as being a man down you fear the worst. 

But I was delighted that the team fought back and we managed to get the 3 points. Every player dug in for the last 40 minutes and it paid off with the win.”

Stewart will now be suspended and he feels that he was harshly treated. He is of the belief that his tackle was not out of the ordinary, explaining: “I was shocked to be honest. I thought I won the ball and I have tackled like that in previous games and nothing has been said. I thought it was firm but fair.

“I also felt really disappointed because I had let the team down by going down to ten men. After the game I spoke with the referee and he didn’t overly convince me that he had made the right decision. I’m gutted I’ll be sitting out of the next game, I want to play all the time.”

The victory was Vale’s third in the league and moved them up to sixth in the Lowland League, with two draws and two defeats. Manager Chris Anderson earlier in the week bemoaned a “frustrating” lack of consistency, but feels the team can start to fulfil its potential.

Stewart agreed: “I feel that we can push on and I believe consistency is definitely key. The team looks a lot stronger now as we have all gelled together as a squad.

“From the board, to the coaching staff, to the players, we all want to bring success. Ando set us a target of six points against Preston and Hawick and we knew we were more than capable of delivering so it was pleasing. Also winning our first game at home was important.”

The former Spartan now has three goals to his name in competitive fixtures and seems to have taken to Lowland League football in his first season.

He added: “I haven’t really set myself a target as such in terms of goals. I am pleased that I have scored a few for the club so far and definitely want to continue. The only target I set myself is to play well week in week out.”