The Valiants make the 403-mile round trip to the JobServe Community Stadium on Tuesday night we take on Colchester United.
Vale come into the game off the back of a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
Ryan Graydon gave the hosts the lead ten minutes from time, before Lorent Tolaj’s 96th-minute penalty earned Vale a share of the points to maintain our unbeaten start to 2025.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say following Saturday’s fixture
“It was a typical game at this level at this stage of the season. It seemed that both teams were cancelling each other out.”
“The group is disappointed because what had seemed a certain goal for us turned out to be a sucker punch where we could have lost the game.”
“But I have to give them (the players) credit for their endeavour, desire and determination. When seven minutes went up, I thought we would get a chance. We had sustained pressure; they gave away a pen and Lorent does what he does and puts the ball in the back of the net.”
The Gaffer also spoke about tonight’s trip to Essex
“For me it’s not so much about the league table or where we are because we can only take care of what we do. The thing for me as a manager now is to look at the group of players and see what shape and condition, they’re in for Tuesday’s game.”
The Opposition
Colchester are one of the form sides in the league, they have picked up 22 points from their last 10 games, one more point than Vale have in the same number of games. In these ten games, they have only conceded four goals in what has been an excellent start of the year of the U’s.
They come into the game off the back of three wins in a row. Their latest win came at the weekend when they beat Cheltenham Town 1-0 away from home thanks to Harry Anderson’s goal 20 minutes from time.
The JobServe Community Stadium has become somewhat of a fortress of late for Colchester, they haven’t lost at home since the 4th January and have since gone four games unbeaten in their own patch.
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 side's EFL Status.
Since joining halfway through last season, The Cowley brothers have taken charge of 60 games in which they have won 19, drawn 28 and lost 16. This gives them a win percentage of around 30%.
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 32 of 35 league games and in this time, he has scored six goals and picked up nine assists.
Colchester have kept 16 clean sheets so far this season, which along with AFC Wimbledon is the joint most in the league. A key factor in this is goalkeeper Matt Macey. The Arsenal academy product has a 72% 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
