Vale return to the road this week as we travel down to Hampshire to face Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Pompey currently sit 9th in League One as they make a late push to make the play-off spots before the season is up, whilst Vale lie down in 16th.
Here is some interesting pre-match reading before the two sides face off on the south coast on Saturday.
The view from Darrell Clarke:
“We know how tough Fratton Park is as a place to play,” Clarke explained.
“We have had a couple of great away results this season and we will need another great performance to pick up the win on Saturday.
“We will be taking the game to them; trying to win the game, get on the front foot, play our football, and produce a better performance than Saturday, which was a little bit out of character from our previous five in my opinion.
“We were certainly poor last Saturday so let’s try and get that performance spot on, on Saturday.”
Opposition Boss’ thoughts
Pompey boss John Mousinho said: “Port Vale took some momentum from their promotion into the new season and are an organised side with a lot of energy, so we expect a stern test.
“We’ve got the two internationals out and that’s a blow, but that’s the whole point of having a squad and it presents others with opportunities.”
Fixture Flashback:
League Division 1, Vale Park, Saturday 1st April 2000: Port Vale 2-0 Portsmouth
We are going all the way back to the start of the Century in this flashback, where the tames met in what is now the Championship.
It had been a tough season back then for the Valiants as they were sitting in the relegation zone before kick-off, but their first win in 11 fixtures bolstered their survival hopes.
Goals from Ville Viljanen and Tommy Widdrington secured the much-needed three points for Vale whilst the visitors saw both David Waterman and Adrian Whitbread sent off.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 15th minute through Viljanen when he hammered home after good work from David Healey and Michael Cummins to set him up.
Then came the first red card, and it was Waterman that was sent his marching orders first after he handled a Viljanen volley in the box, resulting in a penalty, something we don’t get to see these days.
Widdrington was given the duty of taking the kick which he dispatched with ease, sending Russell Hoult the wrong way to give Vale a two-goal lead at the interval.
In the second half, things went from bad to worse for Pompey when Whitbread was also sent down the tunnel after receiving his second yellow card, completing the away side’s misery.
After the opening goal, Pompey worked their way back into the game and even came close to an equaliser after Kevin Harper managed to break away and take a shot across goal, but a brilliant fingertip save from Kevin Pilkington directed it onto the woodwork.
A day to forget for the visitors was complete when Shaun Derry managed to blaze the ball over an empty net from just three yards out, proving it was just meant to be for Vale.
Despite the Victory, sadly for the Valiants they would get relegated in the 1999/2000 season, and they are yet to return to the second tier, but let’s hope we see them there in the near future under Darrell Clarke.
Last Time Out (League):
Sky Bet League One, The Memorial Stadium, Saturday 18th March 2023: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Portsmouth
Colby Bishop’s brace earnt Portsmouth a crucial victory over Bristol Rovers at the Mem in their hunt for the playoffs.
Pompey’s number nine netted a goal in each half to secure the points for the south coast side, whilst Rovers’ Jarrell Quansah was sent off late on.
The 26-year-old’s first came in the 19th minute when he managed to squeeze home an effort from a narrow-angle, via both posts, to give the visitors the lead.
Bishop bagged his brace from the penalty spot with just over 20 minutes to go after Paddy Lane was pulled to the ground inside the box by Callum MacDonald.
Things went from bad to worse for the Gas just moments before the end of normal time when Quansah was shown a red card for a poorly timed tackle on Joe Morrell.
The hosts came close to grabbing a goal back late on through John Marquis, but didn’t manage to keep his effort on target against his former side.
Reverse Fixture:
Sky Bet League One, Vale Park, Saturday 27th August 2022: Port Vale 0-1 Portsmouth
In the last meeting between the two sides earlier this campaign, Vale fell to a narrow defeat to Portsmouth thanks to a first-half Dane Scarlett finish.
In a match that saw the two teams’ first meeting since the turn of the century, it took just a single goal to separate the sides, in a match with not many efforts on goal.
Dane Scarlett netted the only goal of the match, racing through onto a Marlon Pack through ball, and after a couple of hesitations, he succeeded in dinking it over Jack Stevens to give the visitors the lead.
Vale’s first effort of the game came through Mal Benning when he received the ball on the left-hand side in the 13th minute, but after driving down the pitch his long-range strike was blasted past the post.
Six minutes later the ball somehow didn’t end up in the back of Pompey’s net after an attack led to a visiting defender trying to clear the ball, but it smashes off his own teammate just over the bar.
10 minutes after conceding the opener, Ellis Harrison came closest for the hosts when he rose highest to direct a looping header towards goal, but Josh Griffiths was equal to it.
Chaos then ensued minutes later, when a flurry of crosses went into the mixer for the Valiants, with the first two seeing potential fouls waved away, and the third seeing Connor Hall having a header just creep over the bar.
It wasn’t to be for Vale, and Pompey rode out the second period to secure all three points.
Pompey Team News:
Jay Mingi, Clark Robertson, and Tom Lowery all returned from injury in midweek when Pompey faced AFC Bournemouth in the Hampshire Cup, a huge boost for the team.
However, Portsmouth will be without Dane Scarlett, who scored in the reverse fixture, and Joe Morell, with the pair both being away on international duty.
Pompey will also be without Ronan Curtis who has started his long road to recovery after tearing his ACL against Bolton Wanderers in February.
Form: LLWWL
07/03/23: Barnsley 3-1 Portsmouth, Sky Bet League One
11/03/23: Portsmouth 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday, Sky Bet League One
14/03/23: Accrington Stanley 1-3 Portsmouth, Sky Bet League One
18/03/23: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Portsmouth, Sky Bet League One
21/02/23: AFC Bournemouth 5-2 Portsmouth, Hampshire Cup quarter final