The Vale will look to pick up back-to-back victories on the road in the league today, as they also look to do the double over the Rovers for this season as the Vale travel to the New Lawn this evening and you can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Forest Green Rovers vs Port Vale
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 11th February 2020
Kick-Off: 7:45 pm
Venue: The New Lawn
Referee: Trevor Kettle
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: WLWDW
Top Goal Scorer: Tom Pope (8 goals)
The Vale will be hoping they can keep their impressive form going and keep their play-off push on the rise, as they look to capitalise on their win away at Northampton Town and secure their second win of the season over the Rovers.
The Valiants secured their home victory over Forest Green Rovers thanks to an early goal from Richie Bennett before David Amoo grabbed the winner for the Vale in the first-half and will be hoping to repeat their success and pull away from the Rovers.
John Askey is still without Adam Crookes but saw Manny Oyeleke return the match day squad against Northampton, whilst Jake Taylor is expected to return to action soon. James Gibbons is unavailable for the next two matches after picking up his 10th yellow cards of the season last weekend, but that aside, Askey has a fully fit squad to choose from, with new signing Mitch Clark available for the side.
“We won’t get too carried away, it’s another step closer to where we want to be, but if we show the effort that we’ve shown today and the guts and determination then as a manager you can’t ask any more of the players.”
John Askey, Port Vale Manager
Forest Green Rovers
Manager: Mark Cooper
Form: LLLDL
Top Goal Scorer(s): Joseph Mills (8 goals)
The Rovers head into the game in a poor run of form, picking up just one point in their last five games, with their last win coming away at Mansfield in January.
Cooper’s side will be hoping they can finally return to winning ways and get revenge on the Vale, as they look to move into a Play-Off position with them currently sat 10th, just under the Vale.
Mark Cooper could be without Jevani Brown for the game as he continues to struggle with a hamstring injury. George Williams returned to action last weekend so he’s in contention for the Rovers, and no new injuries at Walsall means the Brown worry aside, Cooper has a fully fit squad to choose from.
One to watch: Shawn McCoulsky
McCoulsky is a young English forward who joined the Green Army from Championship Bristol City this summer.
Having worked his way up through non-league football with Dulwich Hamlet, McCoulsky earnt a move to Bristol City in 2015.
The 22-year-old represented five clubs, such as Newport County and Southend, on loan from Bristol City, scoring 30 gaols in the process before moving to The New Lawn.
Although he is yet to open his Forest Green account, big things are expected from the attacker after Christian Doidge and Reece Brown left the club, making McCoulsky the clubs star of the future.
Talk:
John Askey: “It’s great to be involved in these games for the players, you don’t have to lift them, they know what’s at stake and Forest Green on Tuesday, if we can get a result there then it pushes us that bit further up the table against a team who are in and around us so it’s great to be involved, all the players are confident and they’ve got that belief that they can win.”
George Williams: “Anyone who gets a bit of momentum in this league becomes hard to beat.”
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.