The Valiants make the 403-mile round trip to the JobServe Community Stadium on Tuesday night when we take on Colchester United.
Vale come into the game off the back of a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Chesterfield at the weekend.
Jayden Stockley gave Vale an early lead with a composed finish from inside the box in the 6th minute. The Vale were reduced to ten men just five minutes after half time when Mitch Clark was shown a straight red card for a robust challege on Bim Pepple.
Despite being a man down, Vale managed to hold firm for twenty minutes before Armando Dobra finally levelled the scores when he took advantage of a defensive mistake before slotting past Ben Amos. With the score’s levels Darren Moore’s side weathered the storm and held out to earn a solid point on the road after spending most of the second half with ten players.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say following Saturday’s draw:
“I thought we were set up really well, we had a magnificent start, took the game to them and took the lead.
“The changing point for Chesterfield was probably the sending off. It is probably two points dropped by us by our own doing. There was the red card and then in the second half, whereas we had been showing impetus to get out and expose them in attacking areas, we had to camp in and make sure we did our jobs.”
“I thought the boys did that. The second half became defence against attack. I didn’t think they had that many chances and for the goal to come that way, that’s why I say it was our own doing.”
The Gaffer also spoke about Tuesday’s trip to Colchester United:
“We’re happy for the games to come thick and fast. We had a couple of games called off with the cold snap, but now we’ve got a few weeks when we play midweek games so this is where the squad comes into it. “
“The players have got to be focused, we’ve got a long trip on Tuesday night but we’re glad to have another game in the next 72 hours to get down and look to compete which I’m sure we be another difficult test for us, but one that we’re looking forward to”.
The Opposition
Colchester United currently sit in 13th place in Skybet League One with 34 points from their 27 games played. The U’s come into the game off the back of a 1-0 victory at home to ten-man Morecambe. Nelson Ebgo’s second half goal was enough to earn them all three points.
This win made it three games unbeaten after a win at Bromley and a 0-0 draw at Harrogate Town. Another thing to add, in these three games they haven’t conceded a goal.
Colchester have a decent home record for far this season. In their 14 game at the JobServe Community Stadium, they have won five, drawn five and lost four.
Who’s in Charge?
Danny Cowley is in charge of Colchester United. He and his brother Nicky took charge of the U’s in January 2024 after Ben Garner departed.
Cowley made an instant impact; his side went unbeaten in his first month at the helm and had noticeably become a lot harder to beat. So much so that in his 20 games as manager last season, they drew ten and won four which ultimately maintained his sides EFL Status.
Since joining halfway through last season, The Cowley brothers have taken charge of 55 games in which they have won 14, drawn 25 and lost 16. This gives them a win percentage of around 25%.
Player to Watch
Jack Payne has been a standout player for the U’s so far this season. The central midfielder has enjoyed playing in a more attacking role this season. The former Swindon man has started 24 of 27 league games and in this time, he has scored five goals and picked up six assists.
Colchester have kept 12 clean sheets so far this season, which along with AFC Wimbledon is the joint most in the league. A key factor of this is goalkeeper Matt Macey. The Arsenal academy product has a 71% save ratio this season which is the sixth highest in the league.
In the January transfer window, Colchester signed striker Tyreece Simpson on loan from Stevenage. Despite only being 22 years old, Simpson has over 100 league appearances and he’s scored nineteen goals. Simpson broke onto the scene during a loan spell with Swindon Town in the 2021/22 season where he scored 11 goals in 30 games for the Robins.
Fixture Throwback
Colchester United 0-1 Port Vale, Saturday 20th March 2021
We have to go back almost three years for our last victory at Colchester United. The sides met in the 2020/21 season and it was the Valiants who ran out 1-0 winners.
The only goal of the game came in the 19th minute when Devante Rodney burst down the left side before cutting inside and curling an effort into the far corner, leaving Shamal George with no chance in the Colchester goal.
Five minutes later, Vale should have been 2-0 up when Rodney’s low cross was met by Theo Robinson but his effort from point blank range was tame and saved by George.
After the break the Valiants continued to push for that second goal. Tom Conlon and Theo Robinson linked up well on the edge of the area, before Conlon forced a good save from George with a powerful effort from the left side of the box.
Twenty minutes from time Devante Rodney came inches away from a second when his low effort crashed off the upright before being cleared away.
The hosts had a great opportunity to level the scores when Courtney Senior got to the byline and hung-up a cross that was met by Nathan Smith (not that one), but his header was excellently saved by Scott Brown who was at full stretch to tip the header over the bar and earn his side all three points
