February has been busy for Vale, and they are home once again as we face Exeter City at Vale Park on Saturday.
Exeter City are currently 12th in League One, whilst the Valiants sit 15th, looking to swap places with the Grecians with a victory.
Before the two sides clash at the weekend, here is some pre-match reading.
The view from Darrell Clarke:
Darrell Clarke said: “We are in a bad run but it’s certainly not a disaster, we are getting strikers back fitter as well, which is obviously going to help our cause. We go tomorrow to try and turn the game into a positive performance.
“I think in the course of football management – and I have managed a lot of games now – you have bad runs, for different reasons, but for me, it is about being consistent with your work, keep working away, and trying to find solutions to the problems.
“They’re a great bunch to manage, they enthuse me, they care, and I won’t be surprised if we get back in the saddle very quickly.”
Opposition Boss’ thoughts:
When speaking to www.ExeterCityfc.co.uk, Gary Caldwell said: "We're in for another difficult game against them.
“They will fight and compete, and we have to be ready to go up against that.
“They have a big squad, so they've got a lot of options to chop and change their personnel, but they're pretty set on how they play and it doesn't seem to have changed too much since the FA Cup game.
"We're pretty prepared and we know what we're going to face."
Fixture Flashback:
Sky Bet League Two, St James Park, Saturday 19th September 2020, Exeter City 0-2 Port Vale
Back in 2020, Vale produced a brilliant display to sweep aside the Grecians in style at St James Park.
A spectacular free kick from Tom Conlon, and Devante Rodney’s second-half strike, secured all three points for the Valiants early in the 2020/21 campaign.
Our skipper fired us into the lead in style 20 minutes in to the match, curling home a beautiful set-piece into the top right corner, one of the best goals of that season.
Conlon then turned provider in the 71st minute when he unleashed Rodney who knocked the ball past the last man and poked the ball past Lewis Ward to seal the points.
With just over five minutes left of the first-half the hosts had a brilliant opportunity to equalise as Ryan Bowman saw his effort spectacularly saved by Scott Brown after he was sent one-on-one with our former keeper.
The Vale kept pressing for that elusive second goal and it nearly came through David Worrall, but he couldn’t keep his header down after a good cross from Rodney.
Vale saw out the much-needed victory, and eventually went on to finish 13th in League Two the Covid Season.
Last Time Out (League):
Sky Bet League One, St James Park, Tuesday 14th February 2023: Exeter City 0-0 Shrewsbury Town
Exeter City ended Shrewsbury Town’s six match winning run on Tuesday night as the two teams played out a stalemate at St James Park.
The visitors had been on a rampant winning run, but the Grecians solid defence ensured that the Devon side grabbed a point.
Salop did have the best chance of the match, and it came in the 10th minute through Tom Bayliss, but have a brilliant solo run, he fired a powerful effort over the bar from eight yards out.
Exeter responded well to Shrewsbury’s early pressure with Joe White stinging the palms of Marko Marosi from 20 yards out.
Perhaps the Grecians best chance of the match came close to breaking the deadlock before the break, but Marosi made a spectacular save from debutant Kevin McDonald’s curling effort.
Defences ended on top with both sides struggling to break down the other in the second period.
Reverse Fixture:
Sky Bet League One, St James Park, Saturday 6th August 2022: Exeter City 4-0 Port Vale
Back in August, Vale’s first away trip of the Sky Bet League One season ended in a 4-0 defeat to fellow promoted side Exeter City.
Two goals in both halves sealed the victory for the Devon side on a day which saw Tom Pett get minutes in the tank after injury.
The hosts took the lead through an unstoppable volley from Harry Kite after the ball was cleared from a corner and fell invitingly for the Grecian midfielder.
Exeter doubled their lead in the 38th minute after a questionable penalty decision was given against Sammy Robinson when he was seen to have pulled down Jack Sparkes, the resulting kick was tucked away by Jevani Brown.
Brown took the game away from Vale midway through the second period, after a counter attacking move, the forward added his second from inside the box.
Minutes later, three turned to four, this time Brown’s strike partner Sam Nombe turned home from close range after receiving the ball from a throw in.
Vale started the brighter of the two sides and nearly took the lead in just the second minute, but Nathan Smith couldn’t add to his goal tally this season as his shot couldn’t make it past Jamal Blackman.
A second opportunity for the visitors came in the 12th minute through Mal Benning, dragging a shot wide after some good play from Robinson and Jamie Proctor to set him up.
As time went on, Exeter started to take control of the match, and they came close through Brown when he struck a volley sweetly from 20 yards out, but it flashed wide.
Form: LWLLD
21/01/23: Portsmouth 2-0 Exeter City, Sky Bet League One
28/01/23: MK Dons 0-2 Exeter City, Sky Bet League One
04/02/23: Exeter City 1-2 Charlton Athletic, Sky Bet League One
11/02/23: Burton Albion 1-0 Exeter City, Sky Bet League One
14/02/23: Exeter City 0-0 Shrewsbury Town, Sky Bet League One