Vale return to the road on Friday to face Accrington Stanley, the first match of an important Easter period.
Both Vale and Stanley will be looking to put their recent form right, with Vale currently sitting in 17th on 45 points, whilst the visitors are down in 21st on 35 points.
Here is some interesting pre-match reading before the Valiants face the Lancashire side at the Wham Stadium.
The view from Darrell Clarke:
“It's a big weekend for us,” said Darrell Clarke
“We’ve turned away ample opportunities to get ourselves over the 50-point mark, we're still not there we still got work to do.
“We've got Accrington and Oxford, both teams fighting for their lives, so it’s a very important Easter weekend, but I'm sure our fans will back us in numbers and get right behind us.”
Opposition Boss’ thoughts:
Speaking to www.accringtonstanley.co.uk, Stanley manager John Coleman said: “There are six points up for grabs in such a short space of time over the Easter weekend, people see it as a watershed moment and it could be in the battle for survival.
“The final eight games are huge, but you have to give yourself a fighting chance and we have passed up the opportunity to give ourselves fighting chances.
“We have been a little bit unlucky along the way, but you can’t always blame luck and so we have to get back to the way I know we can be, the Accrington that I know and that our fans know.”
Fixture Flashback:
FA Cup first round, Vale Park, Saturday 6th November 2021: Port Vale 5-1 Accrington Stanley
Today we are travelling back in time to the last season, and it was Hat-trick hero James Wilson who starred in an emphatic victory over Accrington Stanley to put us in the 2nd round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Three goals from our number nine, a first Vale goal for Lewis Cass, and a stoppage-time strike from former loanee George Lloyd hammered home the victory for Valiants, with Ethan Hamilton also netting a consolation goal for Stanley.
Wilson grabbed his first of the match on the half-hour mark after he curled home a brilliant effort when one-on-one with Accrington keeper, Toby Savin.
Accrington were forced to finish the match with ten men after Colby Bishop was sent his marching orders for kicking out at Nathan Smith in an off-the-ball incident on 70 minutes.
One goal became two with just over 15 minutes to go after Wilson latched onto a loose ball and fired past Savin once again with aplomb.
Our forward’s hattrick was complete just six minutes later from just two yards out when he met Tom Conlon’s cross to prod home.
Hamilton grabbed a goal back for the visitors with six minutes remaining as he managed to get on the end of a Stanley free kick from 20 yards out.
Only a minute later, Cass scored his first goal for the club after receiving the ball from James Gibbons, he blasted a shot against the underside of the crossbar, and into the net.
The goals kept coming for the Valiants, and we got our fifth and final of the afternoon through Lloyd, who also netted his first goal for the club, finishing home after seeing his initial strike saved.
Last Time Out (League):
Sky Bet League One, St James Park, Saturday 25th March 2023: Exeter City 5-0 Accrington Stanley
Exeter City put five past John Coleman’s Accrington Stanley at St James Park to heap more pressure on the relegation-threatened Lancashire side.
Five different scores did the damage for the Grecians, with four of the goals coming in a scintillating second-half display.
Demetri Mitchell opened the scoring for the home side, just under ten minutes before the interval, when he curled a spectacular effort beyond Lukas Jensen from 20 yards out.
Four minutes after the restart, Exeter doubled their lead, as Josh Key expertly brought down Will Aimson's long ball, before powerfully striking the ball past Jensen.
Exeter started to turn on the style in the second half, and they grabbed their third goal of the afternoon in the 54th minute through Sam Nombe, who reacted quickest to tap home after Jensen had tipped Alex Hartridge’s strike onto the bar.
Three became four just over 20 minutes later, this time substitute James Scott was on hand to net his first goal for the Grecians.
Jay Stansfield then capped a wonderful display in the 81st minute when fired home a powerful low strike to make it five for Exeter.
Reverse Fixture:
Sky Bet League One, Vale Park, Tuesday 7th February 2023: Port Vale 1-1 Accrington Stanley
Only two months ago, it was David Worrall’s 57th-minute strike that salvaged a point for Vale against ten men Accrington Stanley in a dramatic encounter at Vale Park.
In a game that saw two penalties and a red card, our number seven’s second-half strike cancelled out Aaron Pressley’s penalty to ensure the points were shared.
Accrington got their noses in front from the spot seven minutes into the second half after Pressley was adjudged to have been fouled in the area by Funso Ojo.
The number 20 took the responsibility of taking the kick himself and calmly tucked it into the bottom left-hand corner, despite Jack Stevens diving the correct way.
However, the Valiants responded within five minutes, as David Worrall was there to tuck the ball away after Tom Conlon saw a strike beat away by Lukas Jensen.
Vale were also awarded a penalty with 15 minutes to go when Harvey Rodgers was sent off for using his hand to prevent Ben Garrity’s goal-bound header from crossing the line.
Unfortunately, Dan Butterworth saw his powerful spot kick saved by Jensen down to his right.
After a fast start, Vale nearly took the lead in the sixth minute through Ojo, but after Proctor laid it to him inside the box, his powerful strike flashed narrowly over the bar.
Chances were hard to come by in a cagey first half, however, one did fall to Gavin Massey who ran through on goal and sent a half-volley wide of the far post.
Just three minutes after the break, the Valiants went within inches of taking the lead when Conlon fired a beautifully curled effort just past the left-hand post.
Vale piled the pressure onto the Stanley backline and in the 66th minute nearly grabbed our second, but Garrity couldn’t keep his header down after Worrall had whipped in a delightful cross.
Nathan Smith came within centimetres of winning it for Vale in stoppage time when he met Worrall’s corner, but his header skimmed the crossbar.
Form: WLWLL
11/03/23: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Accrington Stanley, Sky Bet League One
14/03/23: Accrington Stanley 1-3 Portsmouth, Sky Bet League One
18/03/23: Accrington Stanley 0-1 MK Dons, Sky Bet League One
21/03/23: Accrington Stanley 0-2 Plymouth Argyle, Sky Bet League One
25/03/23: Exeter City 5-0 Accrington Stanley, Sky Bet League One