The Valiants are back in action on Saturday as we face relegation threatened MK Dons at Vale Park.
MK Dons are currently out of form and now sit in 22nd, whilst Vale lie in 16th place in League One.
Here is some interesting pre-match reading before the fascinating clash in Burslem at the weekend.
Fixture Flashback:
Sky Bet League One, Stadium MK, Saturday 9th November 2019: MK Dons 0-1 Port Vale
In this week’s fixture flashback, we are throwing it back to our last victory against this weekend’s opposition, and it was a David Worrall strike that gave us a 1-0 victory at Stadium MK back in 2019.
Our number seven’s first-half effort secured a first-round FA Cup victory for the then League Two Valiants.
After an electric start, Vale netted the only goal of the game after 19 minutes when Worrall headed home James Gibbons' pinpoint cross.
The wingback made no mistake after he was left unmarked at the back post and nodded in the eventual winner from close range.
Vale started on the front foot and came close through Richie Bennett inside two minutes when he rifled a shot with his left foot from a tight angle, forcing Lee Nicholls into making a smart save.
The Valiants continued to create chances later in the half, with Burgess coming close to adding a second after David Amoo slid through the attacker, but his effort failed to trouble Nicholls.
Moments later Vale had a golden chance to double their lead, but Bennett could not find the net from close range.
On 65 minutes, MK Dons really should have found themselves on level terms when the ball fell to Ben Reeves, and he smashed his effort over the bar from close range.
Despite a strong second half from the home side, Worrall's first-half strike was enough to send the Vale through to the second round of the FA Cup in front of 593 travelling Valiants.
Last Time Out (League):
Sky Bet League One, LNER Stadium, Tuesday 28th August 2023: Lincoln City 1-1 Port Vale
Paris Maghoma’s dramatic late strike salvaged a point for MK Dons on the road at Lincoln City on Tuesday night.
The Brentford loanee’s last-gasp effort cancelled out Daniel Mandriou’s early goal to secure a much need point for the away side.
Mandriou fired the Imps into the lead in superb fashion after just five minutes when he curled home his fourth goal of the campaign.
Just when it looked like Lincoln were heading for victory, Maghoma saw his flick from a corner deflect over Carl Rushworth into the net with just one minute left on the clock.
It looked like it wasn’t the Buckinghamshire side’s day earlier in the match when Mo Eisa saw his header cleared off the line by Paudie O’Connor.
Will Grigg also saw a change go begging when Rushworth kept out his close-range effort when he looked more than likely to score.
Reverse Fixture:
Sky Bet League One, Stadium MK, Tuesday 16th August 2022: MK Dons 2-1 Port Vale
In August of last year, Ellis Harrison’s first goal for the club wasn’t enough to prevent Darrell Clarke’s Valiants from falling to defeat on the road to MK Dons in Sky Bet League One.
A pair of long-range efforts in both halves from MK Dons’ Bradley Johnson did the damage for the hosts before Harrison netted a late consolation for Vale.
The hosts took the lead against the run of play after 33 minutes, through Bradley Johnson, after Matthew Smith calmly laid it off to the Dons midfielder to guide it into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Johnson grabbed his second of the match with just five minutes left on the clock, smashing a free kick low into the bottom right-hand corner from just outside the area, a goal that just proved much for Vale to turn around.
Harrison grabbed one back in additional time for the visitors, flicking home from a free kick at close range to give the away support some hope, but sadly it wasn't enough.
After a slow first 20 minutes, the game kicked into gear, and it was Vale who knocked on the door when Sammy Robinson showed his skill set twisting and turning in the box before his shot was deflected wide.
Vale cranked up the pressure in the second half and somehow didn’t level the scores in the 56th minute, having one cleared off the line after the ball bounced off of Harrison from close range.
Robinson’s time to come close came in the 62nd minute when a well-delivered Chris Hussey free kick found the wing-back, but somehow, he wasn’t able to direct the ball home from close range.
Our former number 16 then found himself involved once again, after some good work on the right Robinson switched the ball to Hussey who set himself, but his half-volley just flashed wide.
With just under 15 minutes remaining, Jack Stevens who wasn’t forced into action much in the 90 minutes, was called upon to produce a fine save from a long-range Dan Kemp shot.
After the late goal for Vale, they continued to push for an equaliser, but sadly for the Valiants they just fell short in Buckinghamshire and will be hoping to put it right at Burton Albion on Saturday.
Dons’ Team News:
The visitors are due to travel to Staffordshire with Dean Lewington, Anthony Stewart, and Warren O’Hara, who all remain sidelined for different periods of time due to injury.
Form: DLLLD
11/02/23: MK Dons 1-1 Oxford United, Sky Bet League One
14/02/23: Bolton Wanderers 5-0 MK Dons, Sky Bet League One
18/02/23: Sheffield Wednesday 5-2 MK Dons, Sky Bet League One
25/02/23: MK Dons 0-1 Ipswich Town, Sky Bet League One
28/02/23: Lincoln City 1-1 MK Dons, Sky Bet League One