The Valiants are back on the road on Saturday as we make the trip to the County Ground to face Swindon Town.
The Valiants come into the game off the back of a midweek defeat in the Vertu Trophy. Prior to this, we continued our unbeaten run in the league with a hard-fought victory over Accrington Stanley at the weekend.
Jayden Stockley headed Vale into the lead after just six minutes before Tom Sang was sent off seven minutes later. Accrington levelled the scores just after half time. However, this lead didn’t last long as Vale showed great character to regain the lead when Ben Garrity slid the ball through to Lorent Tolaj who finished calmly past the onrushing keeper to earn his side all three points despite playing most of the game with ten men.
Gaffer's Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore had to say ahead of Saturday’s trip to the South West:
“They are a team in form, but also we’re a team in form. We meet a team that is bang in form, four straight wins and we’re a team who has shown great improvement since start of the year.”
“We’ve looked at Swindon, they’re in a real good place, managed by a really experienced manager and we know that as a group of players and staff we have to be at our level best.”
“We have to show adaptability in terms of what’s going to be thrown at us, what’s going to be expected of us and what’s going to come our way on Saturday, and we have to deal with it as best we can”
The Opposition
Swindon Town come into the side as one of the form sides in the league. In their last five games they have drawn one and won five.
In their last outing, they had a thumping victory over the League’s bottom side as they beat Carlisle United 5-1 at Brunton Park.
After a tough start to the campaign, Swindon’s positive results of late have seen them rise up the table to 14th where they sit ten points off the Play-Offs.
At the County Ground, Swindon have a mixed record. In their 14 home games played they have won six, drawn three and lost five.
Who’s in Charge?
Experienced EFL manager Ian Holloway is in charge of the Robins. He joined the club in October 2024, three years after his last role as manager.
Holloway’s managerial career began 28 years ago when transitioned from player to manager at Bristol Rovers. He has since managed nine other clubs in what has been an illustrious career to date.
One of “Ollie’s” more successful jobs was at Blackpool where he guided the Seasiders to the Premier League in his first season at the helm. Despite only lasting one season in the promise land, his side put in some memorable performances which included away victories at Newcastle United and Anfield.
Holloway has now returned to the South West where he has enjoyed a good run of late with his Swindon side. So much so that he has been awarded League Two Manager Of The Month for January 2025.
Player to Watch
Striker, Harry Smith has enjoyed an excellent season so far, he has found the net 14 times in 28 games played in all competitions. Smith comes into the game with four goals in his last five games, so he will be looking to add to this on Saturday.
Swindon captain Will Wright has played a big part in his sides recent upturn in results. The 27-year-old centre half as put in some commanding performances in the heart of his sides back line. He put the icing on the cake in his sides 5-1 victory last weekend when he found the net in second half injury time.
There are a few former Valiants in the Swindon side, most notably Connor Ripley. The former Vale keeper played 79 games for the Valiants, including 23 games this season before he departed Vale Park on January Deadline Day. He could potentially make his debut for Swindon this weekend.
Danny Butterworth also plays for Swindon. Butterworth had a loan spell at Vale in the 2022/23 season and has since had spells at Carlisle United before signing for Swindon in the summer. He has started fifteen games for his side this season, scoring three goals and assisting two.
Last Time We Met
Port Vale 2-1 Swindon Town, Saturday 28th September 2024
In the reverse fixture, two second half goals from the Valiants were enough to earn all three points at Vale Park.
The visitors came inches away from opening the scoring five minutes into the second when Aaron Drinan spearheaded a Swindon counterattack before getting into the box and crashing a low effort off the upright before it was eventually cleared away.
Following this attack, it was Vale’s turn to hit the woodwork when Lorent Tolaj’s diving header hit the underside of the bar before going behind for a corner.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 61st minute when Tom Sang’s corner was met by a bullet header from George Byers who opened his goal tally for the club.
Five minutes from time, Vale’s lead was doubled when Brandon Cover took full advantage of a defensive error before winning the ball on the edge of the box and nonchalantly dinking the onrushing keeper.
Swindon hit back in the 89th minute when Will Wright curled home a free kick from 20 yards, but it was too little too late for the Robins who left Vale Park empty-handed.
Ref Watch
Declan Bourne will take charge of tomorrow’s trip to Swindon Town. He will be assisted by David Nicholson and Mark Senior. Paul Howard has been appointed the fourth official.
Bourne last took charge of Vale in our League defeat at Barrow earlier this season. He taken charge of 16 games this season, mostly in Leagues One and Two.
In these sixteen games he has issued 64 yellow cards and two red cards.
