Port Vale will be hoping to carry on our winning run, which currently stands at five straight league victories, with another 3 points over promotion chasing Morecambe at the weekend. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Port Vale vs Morecambe
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 10th April
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: Vale Park
Referee: Antony Coggins
Port Vale
Manager: Darrell Clarke
Form: WWWWW
Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (11 goals)
The Valiants will be hoping to build on Easter Monday’s 2-0 victory at Harrogate Town with another win when we welcome automatic promotion hopefuls Morecambe to Vale Park at the weekend.
A brilliant strike from David Worrall, before Kurtis Guthrie’s first Port Vale goal were enough to secure a deserved victory at the beginning of the week, and Darrell Clarke will be delighted with the way his side have responded to a tough run of form previous to these five victories.
An impressive performance from goalkeeper Scott Brown earned him a place in the Sky Bet League Two Team of the Midweek, and our stopper will be hoping that he can secure another clean sheet when the Shrimps visit Vale Park on Saturday.
With that victory at Harrogate on Monday now behind us, full focus will turn to getting a positive result on Saturday, with the Valiants looking to end the campaign strongly.
The last time the Shrimps visited Vale Park, a wonderful strike from Luke Joyce followed by a Tom Pope brace helped secure a 3-1 comeback victory for the Valiants back in October 2019, however we were subjected to a 1-0 defeat when we travelled to the Globe Arena back in October, so Darrell Clarke’s men will be looking to avenge that defeat this weekend.
A win for the Valiants could push us up from 15th place into 13th should results go in our favour at the weekend.
“Everybody was given a clean slate when I came into the club, some players have been able to take those opportunities, whilst some of them simply just haven’t had the chance yet.”
Darrell Clarke, Port Vale Manager
Morecambe
Manager: Derek Adams
Form: LWWLD
Top Goal Scorer: Carlos Mendes Gomes (12 goals)
Morecambe have been the league’s overperformers this season, having finished just two places above the relegation zone in the last campaign, Derek Adams’ side now find themselves in a genuine battle for automatic promotion.
The Shrimps currently sit in fifth place, just two places and one point outside an automatic promotion spot, with what looked an unlikely promotion push at the start of the season, now a very realistic possibility.
Despite their positive season, Derek Adams’ side come into this fixture on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw with relegation threatened Southend United, so they will be hoping to bounce back with a positive result at Vale Park.
One to watch: Carlos Mendes Gomes
The 22-year-old forward from Senegal is having quite the season for Derek Adams’ side, having struck 12 goals so far this campaign, making him the club’s top-scorer.
Gomes is a product of the Atlético Madrid youth academy, learning his trade at the Spanish giants, before coming to England when he signed for West Didsbury & Chorlton in 2016.
He made 50 appearances for the non-league club, before signing for Morecambe in May 2018, where he has scored 14 goals in 82 appearances, 12 of which have come during the current campaign.
He has grabbed at the chance to play for the Shrimps on a regular basis this season, and his performances so far have made him into one of the first names on the team sheet for Derek Adams this campaign.
Talk:
Darrell Clarke: “Derek (Adams) deserves all the plaudits he gets with Morecambe being in the top seven. We expect a difficult game, but nonetheless one that I think we can win.”
John O’Sullivan (Morecambe midfielder): “We had a lot of set pieces on Tuesday, Cole scored a great goal and we need to take that to Port Vale on Saturday and try and get the three points there.”
Coverage:
iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute coverage of the match for all domestic supporters, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
To purchase an iFollow match pass click here.
There will also be the build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: @officialpvfc
Reaction will be available on the website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and our official social media channels.