The Valiants have the chance to make it six games undefeated and secure another three points on the road today when they travel to the Banks’s Stadium in search of their fourth consecutive win as they take on Walsall. With the game just a few hours away, we look back on two classic matches that the Vale have played against the Saddlers.
League One, Banks’s Stadium, Saturday 30th November 2013: Walsall 0-2 Port Vale
The Vale hadn’t won a league game at Walsall for 66 years but had won their previous two away games so were in a good run of form heading into the clash.
The Valiants opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Adam Yates went down the right before sending in a low cross that leading scorer Tom Pope drove past Richard O’Donnell and into the net for his eighth goal of the season.
Walsall went close when former Vale striker Romaine Sawyers had a shot deflected just wide, and the Vale thought they had scored again just before half-time when Chris Lines had the ball in the net but it was disallowed for a foul on Andy Butler.
The Vale wrapped up all of the points in the 66th minute after a long throw-in by Carl Dickinson landed at the feet of Gavin Tomlin and he swivelled and fired the ball into the roof of the net.
Ashley Hemmings had a couple of shots saved by Sam Johnson as Walsall tried to get back into the game to no avail as the Valiants saw out the win.
Walsall – O’Donnell, J.Chambers, A.Taylor, A.Chambers, Downing, Butler, Lalkovic (Hemmings 63), Mantom, Westcarr, Sawyers (Hewitt 81), Baxendale (Gray 71)
Subs not used - Purkiss, Featherstone, Lewis, Benning
Port Vale - Johnson, Yates, Robertson, Duffy, Dickinson, Birchall, Lines, Griffith, Myrie-Williams, Tomlin (Dodds 87), Pope
Subs not used – Shuker, Hughes, Williamson, Chilvers, R.Taylor, Boot
Att. 4,909
League One, Banks’s Stadium, Saturday 14th February 2015: Walsall 0-1 Port Vale
The Valiants were sat down in 16th in the table after only taking one point from their past four games as they made the Valentine’s Day trip to Walsall.
Romaine Sawyers had a shot saved by Chris Neal and Ben Williamson was denied at the other end by Richard O’Donnell as the game got. Off to an exciting start, Walsall thought they had earned a penalty in the 23rd minute when Ryan Inniss tangled with Jordy Hiwula but the referee waved play on and five minutes later Vale were ahead.
Carl Dickenson curled over a cross from the left and Tom Pope did what he does best and headed it past O’Donnell and into the back of the net.
Sawyers then hit the post before Neal saved well from Jordan Cook as Walsall looked to hit back and then after the break Pope had a header saved and Byron Moore also had a shot saved as Vale pressed but in the end one goal proved to be enough.
Walsall – O’Donnell, Purkiss, Downing, J.O’Connor, Taylor, Baxendale (Grimes 55), Cain (Murphy 80), Sawyers, Chambers, Cook, Hiwula-Mayifuila (Henry 74)
Sub not used – MacGillivray, Preston, Flanagan, Kinsella
Port Vale – Neal, Veseli, Robertson, Inniss, Dickinson, Moore, O’Connor, Brown (Lines 46), Marshall (Birchall 90), Williamson (O’Sullivan 84), Pope
Subs not used - Yates, McGivern, Luer, Johnson
Att. 4,504