The Valiants will be looking to bounce back from their opening day defeat, as they host Cardiff City at Vale Park.
Vale come into this game against recently relegated Cardiff City off the back of a narrow defeat away to Rotherham United. The Valiants found themselves 2-0 down and reduced to ten men as they reached the break.
However, Connor Hall grabbed a goal back for Vale on the hour mark and Darren Moore’s side were the only team looking like scoring again. Rotherham themselves were reduced to ten men with just over ten minutes to play and in the 92nd minute, Lorent Tolaj struck the post, meaning Vale left the New York Stadium empty-handed.
Post-Rotherham Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore made of Saturday’s defeat
“The first 45 minutes were a little bit frustrating because that’s not what we want to see from a Port Vale team. We looked hesitant, we looked static, and we were second to every ball.”
“We got into the second half, we changed the shape and personnel, and that second half was more of what I want to see from a Port Vale team at this level. It shows the boys that we can compete and be effective at this level.”
Press Conference Takeaways
Darren Moore speaking about the upcoming fixture against Cardiff
“It’s our first home game of the season and what a spectacular game for us to be on TV. We’re back at the level we want to be at, against a big team, a former Premier League side.”
“The result from Saturday hasn’t affected any preparations for this game; the football season is a marathon, not a sprint.”
About Cardiff City
The Bluebirds were relegated from the Championship last season, finishing 24th. On the road, they only won two of their 23 games, whilst losing ten of those. The last time Cardiff won a game away from home was in March, when they beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Cardiff City come into the game at Vale Park following a 2-1 victory over Peterborough United. Second-half goals from Rubin Colwill and Ronan Kpakio completed the turnaround after Bradley Ihionvien opened the scoring for Peterborough from the penalty spot.
The Opposition Dugout
Brian Barry-Murphy is the man in charge at the Welsh club. Brian took over the club at the beginning of the summer following Aaron Ramsey’s short stint in the dugout. The Irishman has spent the majority of his coaching career in charge of Manchester City’s U23 side, where he won the Premier League 2.
Brian also had a 23-year playing career between 1995 and 2018, which began at Cork City and finished at Rochdale.
Players to Watch
In what was a poor season for Cardiff, one of the main standouts was striker, Callum Robinson. Callum managed to pick up twelve goals during the last campaign, making him the seventh-highest scorer in the Championship.
Another player to look out for is 23-year-old, Rubin Colwill. Rubin has come up through the youth ranks with Cardiff and is expected to be a highly influential player this season. He got his season up and running in the victory against Peterborough when he scored a beautiful free kick to kickstart his side's comeback.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 6-1 Cardiff City, 17th September 1988
The last time Vale beat Cardiff at home was way back in 1988 when John Rudge’s side defeated the visitors 6-1. Vale raced into a two-goal lead before Cardiff grabbed a goal back. The home side added a third before half time to go into the break with a 3-1 lead.
The second half began as the first half started, this time Robbie Earl scoring from range to make it 4-1. Vale added a further two goals in the second half to record their biggest ever win against Cardiff.
This was a significant season for the Valiants as they would end up sealing promotion come the end of the season.
The Officials
The referee for Thursday’s clash is Tom Reeves, who is assisted by Samuel Clayton and Danny Jarvis. Scott Jackson has been appointed as the fourth official.
Tom has officiated over fifty games in both League One and League Two, as well as numerous games in the FA Cup.
