The Valiants travel to the Exercise Stadium on Tuesday night to take on Harrogate Town
Darren Moore’s side made it nine games unbeaten across all competitions, eight unbeaten in the league, on Saturday as we beat Fleetwood Town 3-1 to maintain our spot at the top of League Two. Rico Richards scored his first goal for the club in the first half before the visitors instantly levelled.
However, after a few tactical substitutions from Moore, Vale ran away with all three points thanks to second half goals from Ryan Croasdale and substitute, Ronan Curtis.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what the gaffer had to say following Saturday’s victory:
“I’m pleased for every Vale fan and everyone connected with the football club that we’ve got three well-earned points today and as a group of players and staff we continue to grow as one.”
After Saturday's win, Darren Moore also spoke ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Harrogate Town:
“We have a quick turnaround and another game on Tuesday. We’ll regroup again, we’ll recover again as we’ve got another important game at Harrogate. It’ll be a completely different game to what we witnessed today, and we’ll look at the squad and assess the squad and get ready for another important game on Tuesday”
The Opposition
Harrogate Town currently sit in 14th place in League Two. The Sulphurites come into the game off the back of a 1-1 draw at Carlisle United. Harrogate took the lead at Brunton Park when Matty Daly scored in the 39th minute. However, Carlisle got back on level teams just five minutes later when former Harrogate striker Luke Armstrong scored for the hosts as the game ended in a stalemate.
In their six games at the Exercise Stadium, Harrogate have won three and lost three. Their victories have some against high-profile opposition with wins over Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers and Newport County.
Who’s in Charge - Simon Weaver
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver is the son of Harrogate chairman, Irving Weaver. The former Lincoln City centre back is the longest-serving manager in the top four divisions of the EFL after he was appointed at player/manager in 2009.
Since then, Weaver has led his side to promotion from the National League North all the way to League Two, he also won the FA Trophy in 2019 when his side beat Concord Rangers.
In total, Weaver has managed 790 games for Harrogate in which he’s won 305 of these games, giving him a win ratio of 38%.
Player to Watch - Ellis Taylor
Taylor is Harrogate’s leading scorer so far this season with three goals in the League. The 21-year-old has played all twelve of his sides games this season and has been a shining light so far for the Sulphurites.
Another player to keep an eye out for is goalkeeper James Belshaw. The 34-year-old stopper has made the second highest saves per game in League Two with an average of 3.9 saves each game. Belshaw has played a pivotal role in Harrogate’s rise up the leagues and has made over 200 appearances for the Yorkshire side.
Fixture Throwback
Harrogate Town 0-2 Port Vale, Monday 5th April 2021
The sides have only met four times in the Football League and Vale are yet to be defeated by Harrogate Town. The more memorable of the four ties came in the curtailed 2020/21 season where Vale ran out 2-0 winners at the Exercise Stadium.
Famously, the game was remembered for being the first EFL match to be refereed by a female as Rebecca Welch made her debut. Welch didn’t really have much to do in the first half as the game took a while to spark into life. However, she was far more busy in the second period of the game.
The opening goal came three minutes into the second half when Devante Rodney’s cross-field pass was volleyed home by David Worrall who thundered an effort into the bottom corner from outside the box. After going a goal up, Vale settled and enjoyed the majority of the ball in the second half as they tried to see out the game.
The points were wrapped up in the 90th minute when Kurtis Guthrie picked up the ball on the edge of the box before cutting inside onto his right foot and arrowing a low shot past the keeper to seal the victory for The Valiants.
Ref Watch
Elliot Bell will be the man in the middle for today’s trip to Harrogate. Bell will be assisted by Oliver Bickle and Jacob Graham. Jake Topp is the fourth official.
Elliot Bell has taken charge of 11 games so far this season across League One and the National League. In these games, he has shown 38 yellow cards and one red card.
