Port Vale return to Vale Park after back-to-back away fixtures tomorrow, as we prepare to take on Oldham Athletic. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Port Vale vs Oldham Athletic
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Tuesday 9th March
Kick-Off: 7:00 pm
Venue: Vale Park
Referee: Anthony Moore
Port Vale
Manager: Darrell Clarke
Form: DDLLL
Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (10 Goals)
The Valiants search to put an end to a six-match unbeaten run continues, but manager Darrell Clarke will be hoping that his first victory in charge of the Vale will come tomorrow when we take on 16th placed Oldham Athletic.
Vale head into the game off the back of three tough fixtures against Cambridge United, Salford City and Cheltenham Town who all sit at or towards the top of the table. However we were able to end our goalless run against the league leaders last time out, with Will Swan and Alex Hurst opening their Vale accounts with their first senior goals, as the side showed promising signs that Clarke will be eager to see extended into the Oldham encounter.
In the reverse fixture, goals from Nathan Smith and Mitch Clarke saw us emerge the victors, so we will be aiming to repeat that success and complete the double over an Oldham side who have just one win from their last six matches.
Three points against the Latics could see Clarke’s side climb to 19th in the table, eight points above the drop zone and level on points with a struggling Mansfield Town side.
“It’s a massive game, everyone sees it as a massive game, we’re on a disappointing run and we’re looking to get the three points… we’ve got to go and attack the game, put all those negative thoughts behind us, you can’t control what’s happened, all you can do is get the three points Tuesday night and then go from there.”
Darrell Clarke, Port Vale Manager
Oldham Athletic
Manager: TBC
Form: LDLWL
Top Goal Scorer: Conor McAleny (14 Goals)
Sunday evening saw breaking news from the Latics, as Head Coach Harry Kewell was relieved of his duties along with his assistant manager Alan Maybury, with the club yet to announce who will be taking charge of the side.
The sacking came following a poor run of form which has seen Oldham pick up just five points from their last possible 24, which has seen them slip down the table into 16th, with a home defeat to Bolton Wanderers and draw with Southend United proving fatal for Kewell.
Oldham have also conceded the most goals in Sky Bet League Two under their former manager, 56 in total.
Oldham have had impressive form on the road this season however, winning 10 times away from home in all competitions so far, a stat they will be aiming to boost tomorrow evening as they also seek revenge on the Vale side who won 2-1 at Boundary Park.
One to watch: Conor McAleny
The 28-year old forward, who has been with the Latics since August 2020, was a product of the Everton youth academy and went on to play twice for the Toffees in the Premier League.
During his time with Everton, McAleny had loan spells with Scunthorpe United, Brentford, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic and Oxford United, before joining Fleetwood Town on a permanent move.
At Fleetwood he again found himself the subject of loan spells, this time with Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury Town making the full time switch to Boundary Park.
The playmaker made a perfect start to his Oldham career, bagging the third goal in a 3-0 win over Carlisle United on his debut and has shone this campaign where he has netted 14 times and assisted once, and following a return from injury will be eager to add to his tally tomorrow evening.
Talk:
Darrell Clarke: “There’s a lot of anxiety of where we are positioned in the league, I’ve been there before, I’ve been through it, but for me as the leader of the group I have to control that and best prepare my players as quickly as I can in the space of time and make sure we’re ready to go for a massive game tomorrow night.”
Coverage:
iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute coverage of the match for all domestic supporters, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
To purchase an iFollow match pass click here.
There will also be the build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: @officialpvfc
Reaction will be available on the website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and our official social media channels.