Port Vale will travel to The Jonny-Rocks Stadium to take on Cheltenham Town in the second round of the FA Cup today, as they look to book their place in the next round. After a 2-1 defeat on the road at Scunthorpe United last week the Valiants will be hoping they can get straight back to winning ways. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Cheltenham Town vs Port Vale
Competition: Emirates FA Cup
Date: Saturday 30th November 2019
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: The Jonny-Rocks Stadium
Referee: Ross Joyce
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: WWWWL
Top Goal Scorer: Jake Taylor (5 goals)
The Vale saw their seven game unbeaten run come to an end last week against Scunthorpe United but will be hoping they can get straight back to winning times and secure their fourth away win of the season and advance to the third round of the FA Cup.
Vale booked their slot in the second round of the competition with a 1-0 away at League One side MK Dons thanks to a David Worrall goal and will have their eyes set on the next round where Championship and Premier League sides enter the mix.
John Askey has not been handed any fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash, with Manny Oyeleke and Adam Crookes the only two players still forced out via injury. The Valiants will be without David Worrall however after he received a red card for an off the ball altercation after the final whistle last week against Scunthorpe. That aside Askey has a fully fit squad to choose from.
“It’s a massive competition [FA Cup] history wise, and it creates a lot of interest, if we can get a win on Saturday then the third round is where you want to be, for ourselves, the players, supporters, we want to be in the third round.”
John Askey, Port Vale Manager
Cheltenham Town
Manager: Michael Duff
Form: LDWDD
Top Goal Scorer(s): Ryan Broom (6 goals)
The Robins started their season in fine form and found themselves near the top of the League Two table, but their form has dipped in recent weeks, with Duff’s side only picking up one win in their last seven matches.
The route into the second round was more complicated for Cheltenham than the Vale, as they drew their initial second round match at home to Swindon Town 1-1 before advancing with a 1-0 win in the replay on the road.
Ryan Broom may see Charlie Raglan return to action for his side in today’s game after he missed their last game with an infection, whilst Sean Long is also back in action after featuring off the bench on Tuesday. Luke Varney and Tahvon Campbell will both miss the clash however as they remain injured.
One to watch: Ryan Broom
Ryan Broom has marked himself as the main man for the Robins this campaign, forming a fierce partnership with striker Luke Varney and acting as a primary goalscorer in his absence with injury.
The young Welsh midfielder began his career at the Bristol Rover academy where he worked his way into the first team set up before going out on three short-term loans, starting with Taunton Town.
Next he spent time at Bath City before joining Eastleigh in 2018 before being released by Rovers.
Broom was picked up by Cheltenham and has found his form, acting as a mainstay throughout last season for the Robbins before stepping up as a star man this season, where he has found the net six times and secured four assists so far.
Talk:
John Askey: “They’re a strong team, Cheltenham, well organised and difficult to play at home, but as we say every week, whoever we play then we’ve got a chance, if we can play anything like, then there’s no reason we can’t go through.”
Michael Duff: “They’ve [Port Vale] been excellent this year, I think they’re three points behind us… they’ve been on a good run they’ve got a way of playing, they’re organised, they’re fit.”
Coverage:
iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute commentary from the match, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
There will also be the build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: officialpvfc
Reaction will be available on the official website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and social media.