MATCH PREVIEW | Barnsley (H)

Vale return to action on Tuesday night as we face Barnsley at Vale Park on Valentines Day.

Barnsley have been on a good run of form and currently sit just inside the playoff places, whilst Vale lie in 15th place.

Here is some interesting pre-match reading for the fascinating midweek clash.

Fixture Flashback:

Sky Bet League One, Vale Park, Saturday 20th September 2014: Barnsley 1-2 Port Vale

It’s time to take a trip down memory lane, and thanks to an 89th-minute winner from Mark Marshall, we secured a dramatic win against Tuesday night’s opposition eight and a half years ago.

Marshall, who left the club back in 2015, netted a brilliant individual goal with just a minute to go to win the game for Vale after Conor Hourihane had cancelled out Michael O’Connor’s first-half strike.

Vale mounted pressure on the Reds from the start, and they got their reward in the 24th minute when O’Connor spectacularly curled in a free kick from 20 yards out.

However, now Derby midfielder, Conor Hourihane, levelled the scores on the hour mark from the penalty spot, after the Irishman was fouled by O’Connor in the area.

A moment of brilliance gave the Valiants a deserved victory with just moments left in the match after Marshall slammed home a powerful strike after twisting and turning past three players.

The win was a huge one for Vale on their way to survival in 2014/15, as they ended the campaign in 18th place, with the Tykes going on to finish 11th.

Last Time Out (League):

Sky Bet League One, Oakwell, Saturday 11th February 2023: Barnsley 2-0 Cambridge United

Opening goal scorer Max Watters saw red as Barnsley secured a 2-0 victory over Cambridge United despite finishing the match with ten men.

Watters was sent his marching orders half an hour after netting the opener for the Reds, with Jordan Williams also netting in the second half to seal the points for the Tykes.

The Cardiff loanee fired the hosts into the lead just seven minutes in, reacting fastest to prod home after Devante Cole had seen his effort saved.

However, 30 minutes after scoring his first Reds goal, Watters was shown a straight red card after he lent in an elbow on Lloyd Jones.

Despite being a man down, the home side doubled their lead with just over 25 minutes to go through Williams who volleyed past Dimitar Mitov from the edge of the area.

The match could have gone a different way just two minutes before Barnsley’s second when Sam Smith squandered a great chance to equalise for the U’s, firing wide of the target and being sent through.

Reverse Fixture:

Sky Bet League One, Oakwell, Tuesday 13th September 2022: Barnsley 1-1 Port Vale

Back in September, a late Ellis Harrison header cancelled out Liam Kitching’s first-half opener to ensure Vale came away from South Yorkshire with a point.

Barnsley’s number five gave the hosts the lead with just minutes to go in the first half, heading home from a Jordan Williams cross on the right-hand side.

With just seven minutes to go, Harrison got his third goal in as many away games, heading into the ground and over the keeper from close range after connecting with Gavin Massey’s cross.

The first chance of the game fell to Vale, after a well-worked throw-in Barnsley failed to clear a Funso Ojo cross, it then fell to Mipo Odubeko whose strong effort was beaten away by Brad Collins.

Just under 10 minutes later, it was the Reds’ turn to test the keeper through Luca Connell, with his low drive from just outside the box stopped well by Jack Stevens.

Then came Vale’s biggest chance of the first half, after a corner, Will Forrester managed to send the ball across goal to Ben Garrity, but his header dipped just over the bar.

The Tykes came steaming forward just moments later, and once again Stevens produced a brilliant save to foil Devante Cole from close range.

Barnsley then came close to doubling their lead on the counterattack through Cole in the 64th minute, but Stevens produced a fabulous save from point-blank range to deny him.

With 20 minutes to go, the Valiants kept pressing for an equaliser, and they nearly got it when Harrison connected with a David Worrall cross, but his strong header went narrowly wide.

In the last minute of added time, Stevens proved his worth once again, producing a stunning save to tip a Josh Martin 20-yard effort over the bar.

And just when you thought you had seen one brilliant save, another popped up, this time from Collins who acrobatically stopped an Ojo long-range curling effort at full stretch.

Reds’ Team News:

Luke Thomas and Boban Tedic face a race against time to be involved at Vale Park after time out on the sidelines through injury.

Josh Benson, Robbie Cundy, Matty Wolfe, and Conor McCarthy are all set to miss out on Tuesday night as they battle their way back from various injuries.

Form: LWWDW

14/01/23: Charlton Athletic 2-0 Barnsley, Sky Bet League One

21/01/23: Barnsley 3-1 Accrington Stanley, Sky Bet League One

01/02/23: Oxford United 1-2 Barnsley, Sky Bet League One

04/02/23: Portsmouth 1-1 Barnsley, Sky Bet League One

11/02/23: Barnsley 2-0 Cambridge United, Sky Bet League One