The Valiants return home this weekend and come into the game on the back of a 0-0 draw at Bromley. The key talking point from the game came in the second half when Jayden Stockley’s effort seemingly went over the line, but the officials disagreed and no goal was given.
This draw saw the Valiants finish the weekend in 2nd place in Sky Bet League Two, four points behind Walsall and two points above third place Crewe Alexandra.
Gaffer's Thoughts
The Gaffer spoke ahead of this weekend’s clash against Carlisle United:
“I am surprised that Carlisle are near the bottom of the table in terms of the players they’ve got there and a new manager. We know what Mike’s bringing to the team in terms of what he wants to do.
“Sometimes that can pay in terms of the transitions and in terms of the movements what they’re doing behind the scenes.
“There’s been one or two games where they’ve pulled out some wonderful results against Crewe and Doncaster notably. They probably feel that there’s one or two games that they’ve lost or drawn, and they could have done better with.”
The Opposition
Carlisle United sit at the bottom of Sky Bet League Two with 14 points from 19 games played, 22 points less than the Valiants. They come into the game on a four-game winless run which stems back to the 9th of November when they beat Salford City 1-0 thanks to Ben Barclay’s 88th minute winner.
In their nine games on the road, they have won two, drawn two and lost five. In these nine games, they have scored seven goals and conceded 17.
Who’s in Charge?
The former Newcastle United defender, Mike Williamson, is in charge of Carlisle United.
Williamson joined the club in September 2024 after leaving MK Dons. Williamson made the move to management at Gateshead where he joined as Player/Manager back in 2019.
During his time at the Heed, he helped them to promotion from the Vanarama National League North title in 2021. Two years later, he was part of a Gateshead side that made the final of the FA Trophy where they were beaten 1-0 by Halifax Town.
Williamson then made the move to the Football League where he took charge of MK Dons. In his only season at Stadium MK, he guided MK Dons to a fourth-place finish before they lost to Crawley Town in the Play Offs. Williamson then made the move back to the North East in September to take charge of Carlisle.
Williamson’s stint at Carlisle hasn’t gone as well as he’d have hoped so far as he’s only picked up three wins in 16 games and losing eight.
Player to Watch
Jon Mellish has been a stalwart in the Carlisle backline this season. He has started 16 of his side's 19 fixtures. The central defender is the Cumbrians joint top scorer in the League with two goals and one assist so far this season. Mellish has played over 200 games for Carlisle and has been a mainstay in their side over the past few seasons.
Another player to keep an eye out for is Dominic Sadi. The Bournemouth loanee has caught the eye with his performances down the right side of the Carlisle team. Sadi has made 12 starts for the Cumbrians and in this time he’s scored two goals and got one assist.
The only former Valiant in the Carlisle side is Callum Guy. The central midfielder made 11 appearances for Vale back in the 2016/17 season when on loan from Derby County. So far this season, Guy has made seven starts for Carlisle.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 1-0 Carlisle United, Saturday 26th August 2023
The sides met early on last season and it was the Valiants who ran out winners thanks to James Wilson’s second-half penalty.
Vale started the game the brighter of the two sides and came close through James Plant when his low effort went the wrong side of the post from the left side of the box. Moments later, Connor Ripley was on hand to keep the scores level when he palmed Callum Guy’s thunderous effort to safety.
The key moment in the game came early into the second half. Ethan Chislett latched onto a mistake from the Carlisle keeper before being fouled in the area to win his side a penalty. James Wilson stepped up and made no mistake as he sent the keeper the wrong way to put The Valiants ahead. Ben Garrity put the ball in the net to double Vale’s lead, but the linesman ruled it out for offside and so the game ended 1-0 at Vale Park as Vale ended August in the Play Off spots
