Jon Brady’s Valiants welcome AFC Wimbledon to Burslem on Tuesday evening in Sky Bet League One
Vale come into this midweek clash following a hard-fought 1-0 away win over Leyton Orient. Kyle John's headed goal just two minutes into the game was all that separated the two sides.
Post Orient Thoughts
Here’s what Jon Brady had to say about Saturday's victory:
“It was a tough game. We started the game really well, and I thought we dominated the start, to be honest.
“Orient have an unbelievable home record, and we had to find another side to us, so we went into a bit of a block it worked”.
Our Opponents
Wimbledon is located in the south-west of London and is most well-known for hosting the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament played on natural grass.
Dons fans will make the long 350-mile round trip to watch their side on Tuesday evening. Just like Vale, Wimbledon also secured promotion to League One last season, as they beat Walsall at Wembley in the Play-Off Final. Before this, the Londoners had spent three years in League Two.
Johnnie Jackson’s side did make a good start to the season following their promotion from League Two last time out, sitting in 5th position when these sides met in October. Since then, they have only won two league games, dropping them into a precarious position just outside the relegation zone. They come into Tuesday’s game off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers.
The Opposition Dugout
The man in charge at Wimbledon is Johnnie Jackson. Jackson was appointed manager in 2022 and has gone on to take charge of 205 matches, winning 81 of those. Before this, he spent five years with Charlton Athletic, firstly as an assistant manager and then moving into the manager's role in 2021.
Prior to Johnnie's managerial career, the Englishman had an eighteen-year playing career that started with Tottenham and ended with Charlton. The former midfielder made twenty Premier League appearances throughout his time at Spurs and scored on one occasion against Charlton.
During his nine-year spell at Charlton as a player, Jackson won the League One title, with him being a part of the 2011/12 squad that finished on 101 points.
Player to Watch
A player for Vale fans to keep an eye out for is Steve Seddon. Seddon is a natural full back who has been deployed as a wing back in Jackson's system.
The 28-year-old one of Wimbledon’s highest-performing players this season, consistently putting in good performances. Seddon has scored one goal this season whilst also contributing with four assists, one of which came in their recent draw with Rotherham.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 2-0 AFC Wimbledon, 1st April 2017
Vale have gotten the better of Tuesday's visitors on the last three occasions at Vale Park, with one of these victories coming in 2017 when Michael Brown was at the helm.
With both teams having chances and the woodwork being struck, Vale took the lead with just over twenty minutes played. After some lovely football down the right, Chris Eagles put a cross into a dangerous area that was headed home by the diving header of Nathan Smith.
The Valiants got their second goal of the game midway through the second half. Chris Eagles was causing Wimbledon all sorts of problems down the right wing and got himself on the score-sheet after unleashing a strike from the edge of the box that struck the post on its way in.
