The Valiants travel to Barrow on Tuesday night in the First Round of the Carabao Cup as we look to maintain our positive start to the season.
Darren Moore’s side come into the game off the back of a 2-0 opening-day victory against Salford City. A goal either side of half time from Ben Garrity helped the Valiants to all three points at the Peninsula Stadium.
Gaffer's thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say following our opening day victory:
“I am absolutely delighted to come away with three points. Two goals from set plays and, importantly, the clean sheet.”
“What impressed me most was the way the team went about the game, the tone they set from the off. We gained control of the game very quickly and we were able to maintain that throughout. The boys showed tremendous concentration and effort and that was needed to come here and win.”
When asked about the quick turnaround after Saturday’s victory, the gaffer said:
“Yes, it’s good, the players would want it that way in terms of when the games are coming thick and fast. We’ve done a certain amount of volume of training over pre-season and now it’s just about finding that match tempo and match fitness because sometimes you want those 3-4 games to find that rhythm and the players will be going through that right now.”
Last season's cup run
The Valiants made history last season in the Carabao Cup as the club made it all the way to the Quarter Finals for the first time in the club's history.
Wins over Fleetwood Town, Crewe Alexandra, Sutton United and Mansfield Town set up a historic Quarter Final tie against Middlesbrough which was the undoing for Vale.
The Opposition
Barrow also had a winning start to their season beating Crewe Alexandra 1-0 at the SO Legal Stadium thanks to a first half goal from former Valiant, Theo Vassell.
The Bluebirds will be hoping to improve on last year's Carabao Cup campaign where they were knocked out in the First Round against Bolton Wanderers.
Who’s in charge? Stephen Clemence
The 46-year-old took charge of the Bluebirds in the summer following the departure of Pete Wild.
This is Clemence’s second managerial role. His first was with Gillingham where he was in the hot seat for 34 games during the 2023/24 season. He picked up 12 wins and 13 losses before eventually being sacked in April 2024 with his side in 12th place in League Two
Player to watch - Paul Farman
The Barrow keeper has been at the club three seasons and has played a pivotal role in their rise into the EFL. Last season he picked up three awards at their end of the season awards after keeping 14 clean sheets in the league.
Farman, aged 34, has over 350 football league appearances and has represented clubs like Stevenage, Lincoln City and Carlisle.
Another player to keep an eye on is modern-day Port Vale legend David Worrall. “Wozza” made over 250 appearances for the Valiants over six seasons at Vale Park, playing a huge role in Vale’s promotion from League Two in the 2021/22 season.
Fixture Throwback
Barrow 1-2 Port Vale, 02 April 2022
The sides last met in a Sky Bet League Two fixture in April 2022 and it was the Vale who picked up all three points which was huge for The Vale’s promotion push.
Barrow took the lead in the 22nd minute after Josh Kay got onto a long ball before beating Aidan Stone with a low finish from just inside in the area.
Vale levelled the scores on the hour mark when Jamie Proctor volleyed home Harry Charsley’s cross at the back post. One minute from time Vale completed a dramatic comeback when Aaron Martin poked home Connor Hall’s low shot at the back post to send the travelling Vale fans into raptures and help Vale on their way to promotion.
