Port Vale will be hoping to build on Tuesday night’s 2-1 victory over Newport County at Vale Park, when we travel to the JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday to face Colchester United. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Colchester United vs Port Vale
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 20th March
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: JobServe Community Stadium
Referee: Robert Madley
Port Vale
Manager: Darrell Clarke
Form: LLDLW
Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (10 goals)
The Valiants will be hoping to build on Tuesday’s victory over Newport County with another victory away at the JobServe Community Stadium this weekend.
Goals in each half from captain Tom Conlon and top-scorer Devante Rodney secured a well-deserved three points for Darrell Clarke’s side against a Newport side who had just won three games on the spin.
On Saturday, we face a Colchester United outfit who will be looking to build on two points following two 0-0 draws (against Grimsby and Salford) in their last two games to lift themselves up the table.
The last time we faced the U’s in the league, we earnt ourselves a point following a 1-1 draw at Vale Park after Devante Rodney had given us a 58th minute lead, before Luke Norris pegged us back seven minutes later to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.
Three points against the U’s could see Darrell Clarke’s side climb up to 16th, overtaking Walsall, Scunthorpe United, Oldham Athletic and Mansfield Town should results go in our favour at the weekend, and Clarke will be hoping that the Valiants will pick up where they left off on Tuesday evening.
“We enjoyed Tuesday night and the players enjoyed the game, but it’s only one very small step in the right direction.”
Darrell Clarke, Port Vale Manager
Colchester United
Manager: Wayne Brown (interim manager)
Form: WLLDD
Top Goal Scorer: Callum Harriott and Jevani Brown (8 goals)
The U’s have struggled following a strong start, and have been unable to build on last season’s play-off semi-final appearance thus far this campaign, but will be hoping that they can recreate the displayed towards the end of last season to move themselves up the league going into the final stretch.
Previous manager Steve Ball was relieved of his duties in February following a poor run of results, with Wayne Brown taking over as caretaker manager.
The Valiants’ last trip to the JobServe Community Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw back in August 2019, when a Tom Pope penalty helped us earn a point on the first day of the 2019/20 season, but the Valiants will be hoping to go one better this time.
One to watch: Callum Harriott
The 27-year-old winger has been the U’s most productive outlet this season, being top of both the goal scoring and assist providing charts for his club this season, scoring eight goals and providing five assists so far this campaign.
The man from Norbury started his senior career at Charlton Athletic in April 2011, where he would score 11 goals across 86 appearances in a five-year spell at the club.
Harriott first joined the U’s on loan in August 2015, where he made a big impression on the club and its supporters, scoring five goals in 20 appearances before returning to Charlton in January 2016.
A permanent move to Reading followed in August 2016, but he found playing time hard to come by in his three-year spell with the Royals and re-joined Colchester on a permanent basis in August 2019, where he has developed into a key player in the U’s bid to move up the table.
Talk:
Darrell Clarke: “Let’s focus on performance, I’ll work with my players focusing on that and then the results can take care of themselves. It’s a big game on Saturday, they’re down there with us and they’ll be looking to win the game like us.”
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.