The Valiants are back in action on Tuesday night as we welcome Fleetwood Town to Vale Park.
Gaffers Thoughts
Here’s what the gaffer had to say following Saturday’s fixture:
“I thought it would be a tight game because Lincoln’s defensive record is very good. But the first goal was bizarre, I think we are all still scratching our heads about how it came about.”
“Then with the second goal, we have given the referee a decision to make. I have no complaints with his decision.”
“You can’t go giving a team an early start like that. We have ourselves a mountain to climb from then really. After that, we huffed and puffed. It was a tight game, there wasn’t much given away by either team.”
The Opposition
Fleetwood Town currently sit in 23rd place in Skybet League One, four points below the Vale. The Cod Army come into the game on a four game winless streak where they have picked up two draws and two losses.
In their most recent outing, they picked up a draw at Exeter City. The hosts took the lead in the first half thanks to Vincent Harper’s first half strike. Promise Omochere then levelled the scores for Fleetwood Town in the 74th minute to earn the visitors a share of the points
Player to Watch – Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu
The Fleetwood defender has been the stand out player for the Cod Army this season in what has been a tough campaign so far. Sapong-Wiredu has been one of the more consistent performers at right centre back, the Fleetwood defender has also pitched in with three goals, the latest of which was a 95th minute equaliser against Reading earlier this month.
Another player to watch is experienced striker Jayden Stockley. The Fleetwood forward has scored six goals and assisted four times so far this season. Earlier this month he scored in three consecutive games which included their 3-0 victory over Port Vale on Saturday 3rd February.
Who’s in Charge?
Fleetwood are managed by former Premier League midfielder, Charlie Adam. The Scotsman joined the club on the 31st December 2023 after Lee Johnson was relieved of his duties.
This is his first senior management role since retiring from football in September 2022 after an illustrious career for club and country. In his eleven games in the dugout he has picked up 11 points which came in the form of two wins and three draws.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 3-2 Fleetwood Town, Tuesday 8th August 2023.
The sides met earlier in the season in the first round of the Carabao Cup and it was the Valiants who progressed into the next round.
Fleetwood took the lead in the 5th minute when Cian Hayes curled an effort into the top corner from just outside the area. Thirteen minutes later, Ethan Chislett scored a carbon copy of Hayes’ goal after he found he top corner with a curled effort from the left side of the box. The sides level at the break, but two minutes into second half Fleetwood regained the lead when Ryan Graydon powered home a header at the near post.
This lead only last ten minutes as Vale levelled through Josh Thomas. The Welshman picked up the ball on halfway before driving into the Fleetwood box and calmly slotting past the onrushing keeper.
The winning goal came in the 72nd minute when Gavin Massey’s close range cross was headed home by Ethan Chislett who grabbed his second goal of the game and started what was a memorable Carabao Cup campaign for the Valiants.
Match Officials
Darren Drysdale will take charge of tomorrow night's match against Fleetwood Town with Steven Plane and Richard Wigglesworth assisting him.
Drysdale has taken charge of 22 games this season, mostly in League One and Two. His last game was on Saturday where he was the man in the middle for Stevenage versus Wycombe Wanderers. The game ended 1-0 to Stevenage with Drysdale sending off the Wycombe goalkeeper in the 48th minute of the game.