We return to Vale Park on Thursday night as we take on Notts County in front of the Sky Sports cameras
The Valiants come into the game off the back of an entertaining 3-3 draw at Swindon at the weekend.
Will Wright’s penalty gave the hosts the lead before Jaheim Headley and Lorent Tolaj found the net to give Vale the lead at the break. The hosts hit back straight after the break when former Valiants Danny Butterworth found the net from close range. As the points looked like they were staying in Wiltshire, Lorent Tolal popped up in the 87th minute to fire home from close range earning Vale a share of the points.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say ahead of Thursday’s fixture:
“From our personal perspective, we’ve worked hard to put ourselves in the position to be in a big game at this level. We’ve worked extremely hard for it and we need to continue working hard.”
“It’s a really exciting game for us, at home in front of our fans and with the form that both teams are in at the moment.”
The Opposition
Notts County are the league's form side as they come into the game with 16 points from their previous six games. The Magpies currently occupy 2nd place in League Two, just seven points behind leaders, Walsall.
County come into the game off the back of a victory over Morecambe at the weekend. Second half goals from Charlie Whitaker and Allasana Jatta helped them a 2-0 victory at Meadow Lane. This was their third win in a row and their fifth in six games.
The Magpies have the joint away best record in the league, only matched by Port Vale. Both sides have picked up 26 points on the road. However, County have played a game less than the Valiants.
Who’s in Charge?
44-year-old Stuart Maynard is the current manager of Notts County. Maynard joined the club in January 2024 when Luke Williams left to join Swansea City. Since making the move to Nottingham, Maynard has managed 54 games for Notts County in which he’s won 23, lost 19 and drawn 12.
Before joining The Magpies, Maynard was in charge of Wealdstone United for three seasons where he guided them to their highest National League finish when they finished 13th in the League.
Player to Watch
6’4ft Gambian striker, Allassana Jatta has been the stand out player for Notts County this season. The 26-year-old has already scored 19 games in all competitions, which includes 14 in the league. County reported turned down bids of £750,000.00 for the big striker in January, so they’ll will be hoping they he can guide them to another promotion.
Jatta’s strike partner David McGoldrick is also having a season to remember. The veteran forward began his career at Meadow Lane 18 years ago and has so far scored 13 league goals this season.. However, McGoldrick did miss his sides last outing so he may be a miss on Thursday.
Maltese international, Jodi Jones has a good season when fit. He missed a large chunk of the season after fracturing his shin in October. Jones has only played 14 games this season and in this time, he’s scored five goals and got four assists. He hobbled off after 25 minutes at the weekend so could also a be a doubt going into tonight’s fixture.
Last Time We Met
Notts County 0-1 Port Vale, Saturday 5th October 2024.
The sides met earlier in the season in Nottingham and it was the Valiants who came home with all three points.
The hosts made the brighter of the starts and had a good opportunity to take the lead when a deep cross from the left was recycled by Kellan Gordon who pulled it back into the path of Dan Crowley, but he blazed over from the right of the box.
The only goal of the game came in the 23rd minute when Connor Ripley’s long ball went over everyone and was chased down by Ronan Curtis who sent in a low cross that was diverted home by Lorent Tolaj who bobbled an effort into the back of the net to give Vale the lead against the run of play.
In the second half, the hosts pushed for a leveller and worked some great opportunities but couldn’t find a way past Ripley and his solid backline. Kellan Gordon’s cross was deep and by Jatta but his header was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Ripley.
Ripley was the hero for Vale and he made another great save in the dying embers when he clung onto Robbie Cundy’s header to maintain his clean sheet and earn Vale a hard fought victory on the road.
