After Tuesday night’s postponement, the Valiants are back in action this weekend as we host Accrington Stanley at Vale Park.
The Vale come into the game off the back of a free week after Tuesday night’s trip to Colchester was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at the JobServe Community Stadium.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say ahead of Saturday’s fixture:
“The way Jon & Ged have got them set up, they’ve got them really working hard and they are a disciplined team, so we expect another tough game here at Vale Park. We are in-front of our fans and we’re looking forward to the game and we’re looking forward to the test and the hurdles that are going to be put in front of us, but we know that we have to be at our best if we are to come away with anything.”
The Opposition
Accrington Stanley come into the game off the back of productive January. In this first month of 2025, Stanley played five league games in which they won two, drew two, and lost just once. Their two wins were both on the road and they have come against Colchester United where they won 2-0. And, more recently, Crewe Alexandra where Shaun Whalley’s deft chip helped his side to a 1-0 victory at the Mornflake Stadium.
In the league, Accrington sit in 19th place, eight points above the relegation zone so they will be looking to widen this gap over the next few weeks.
So far this season, Accrington have played 13 games away from home. In this time, they have won four, drawn two and lost seven. However, their last away defeat came last year when they lost to Carlisle United on the 29th December 2024.
Who’s In Charge?
John Doolan took over the reins at The Wham Stadium after John Coleman left the club in March 2024 after a ten-year stint in the dugout. During this time, Doolan was a key part of Coleman’s backroom staff and has since made the step up to manager.
This is Doolan’s first permanent role in men’s management. He has previously been assistant manager at clubs like Wigan Athletic, Hibernian and Rotherham
So far this season, Doolan has managed 44 games, in this time he’s won 12, drawn 12, and lost 20.
In the week, the club announced that Doolan is taking a period of leave following a family bereavement. As a result of this, Ged Brannan will be taking charge of the side for Saturday’s game.
Brannan has some experience of being manager as he was in charge of Morecambe for most of the 2023/24 season, before he left the club to take up the Assistant Manager role at Accrington Stanley.
Player to Watch
37-year-old Shaun Whalley is still lighting up League Two and he’s been a standout player for his side this season. The experienced EFL midfielder has played 21 League games so far this season, scoring seven goals and assisting seven.
Ben Woods is another player who has caught the eye this season. The 22-year-old central midfielder has made 26 appearances so far this season, scoring four goals and getting two assists to his name.
Last Time We Met
Accrington Stanley 2-2 Port Vale, Saturday 21st September 2024
The first goal of the game came just before the half hour mark when Shaun Whalley cut inside from the left before curling an exquisite effort into the top right corner to give Accrington the lead against the run of play.
The home sides lead was doubled just before the break when Donald Love rose highest to powerfully head Jake Batty’s drilled corner into the back of the net.
In the second half, the Vale pushed for a goal to halve the deficit but couldn’t get past a solid Accrington backline.
As the referee indicated six minutes of added time, Vale managed to pull a goal back when Ryan Croasdale’s headed cross was met by Jayden Stockley who bravely beat the keeper to the ball before heading home from close range.
The Vale’s tails were up, and they still had six minutes to find a leveller to salvage something from the game. In the 95th minute, Connor Hall’s cross fell to Ronan Curtis who saw his effort deflect into the path of Antwoine Hackford to hammer home from close range to earn Vale a point in the most dramatic fashion and send the 1,000 travelling Vale fans into raptures.
