After a comfortable win on the road against Newport County last weekend, we return home on Saturday 14th September as we welcome Chesterfield to Vale Park.
The Valiants come into the game off the back of a 4-1 victory over Newport County who finished the game with nine men.
The Valiants went 1-0 up early on after Jayden Stockley headed home Benecio’s deep cross at the back post. In the 24th minute, the hosts levelled when Aaron Wilding headed past Connor Ripley from six yards out.
The scores weren’t level for long as Stockley scored his and his side's second goal of the game just ten minutes later when he turned home Lorent Tolaj’s flick at the back post.
In the second half, Vale continued to control the game and added a third goal when Tolaj won the ball off the defence and found Ethan Chislett who rolled the ball under the onrushing keeper. Tolaj then got himself on the scoresheet when he was on hand to convert Kyle John’s low cross.
Things went from bad to worse for the Exiles as Ciaran Brennan and Kyle Jameson were both sent off for separate off-the-ball incidents to cap off a miserable day for the hosts and a great day on the road for the Valiants.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say following our victory at Rodney Parade:
“It was a result we were waiting for. We got off to a great start with Jayden’s goal. There were parts of the performance I really liked, and parts where you can see we need work. But overall to come here, score four goals, and put in a solid performance in moments is really pleasing.”
The Gaffer also previewed this weekend's home clash against Chesterfield:
"Here at Vale Park, we want to win games, that goes without question, as well as winning games on the road. We know that the task that we've got isn't easy, the start of the season was never going to be easy, but we feel as a group of players that we have come together and been formulated for such a time as this.
"We've got to learn, we've got to develop quickly, but obviously our mindset is to get that home win and to really get going."
The Opposition
Chesterfield have enjoyed a positive start to their first season back in the EFL in six years. They sit in the 9th place in the league, two places and one point above Vale.
In their five leagues this season they have won two, drawn two and lost once. Their wins have come against Grimsby Town who they beat 2-1 last week and Crewe Alexandra who they emphatically beat 5-0 at Gresty Road in their first away league game of the season.
In midweek they added experience to their ranks after signing former Sheffield United and Rangers midfielder, John Fleck.
Who’s in Charge?
Paul Cook is in his second spell in charge of the Spireites after a successful first stint between 2012-15.
In his first period at the football club, he lead his side to the League Two title in 2013/14. The following campaign saw Chesterfield finish 6th in League One. However, they lost in the Play Offs to eventual winners, Preston North End.
Cook then left Chesterfield in 2015 to join Portsmouth where he would help them win the League Two title in the 2016/17.
After leaving Fratton Park in May 2017, Cook has spells at Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town before returning to Chesterfield in 2022 with the club in the National League.
In the 2023/24 season, the Spireites returned to the football league after winning the National League, and in doing so, they broke a club record for the most wins in a league campaign with 27 wins over the League Season.
Player to Watch - James Berry
The Chesterfield forward is the joint-leading scorer in League Two with four goals from five games.
The 23-year-old joined Chesterfield from Macclesfield where he won the Northern Premier League Golden Boot after scoring 24 times for the Silkmen. Last season, Berry was mainly used as a substitute but still managed to get six goal involvements to help The Spirites with the National League.
Another player to keep an eye out for is Berry’s strike partner, Will Grigg. Despite not being on fire from a goalscoring perspective so far this season, Grigg has still played a pivotal role in his side's positive start to the campaign. Grigg has started every game this season and he got one goal and one assist in their 5-0 victory against Crewe last month.
Last Time We Met
Port Vale 2-1 Chesterfield, Friday 30th March 2018.
The sides haven’t met in a while, but in the last encounter, it was the Valiants who secured all three points on Good Friday back in 2018.
Vale took the lead on the brink of half time when David Worrall’s low cross was turned home by Danny Pugh who was at full stretch to put Vale ahead. However, moments later Pugh went from hero to zero as he was sent off for a two-footed tackle on the halfway line.
After the break, the visitors levelled the scores when Louis Reed fired a 25-yard free kick over the wall, and into the back of the net in the 56th minute.
The winning goal came eight minutes from time when Tom Pope’s flick-on found Ben Whitfield who let the ball run, before curling an effort into the bottom corner leaving Chesterfield keeper, Aaron Ramsdale, with no chance. This proved to be a huge result for the Valiants who took a giant leap away from the threat of League Two relegation.
