Match Preview: Morecambe (A)

Match Preview: Morecambe (A)

Port Vale will look to continue our unbeaten start to the league campaign when we travel to the Globe Arena to take on Morecambe tomorrow. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.

Fixture: Morecambe vs Port Vale

Competition: Sky Bet League Two

Date: Saturday 3rd October

Kick-Off: 3:00 pm

Venue: Globe Arena

Referee: Robert Madley

 

Port Vale

Manager: John Askey

Form: DWLWD

Top Goal Scorer: Mark Cullen (2 goals)

After winning on the road at Exeter two weeks ago, the Valiants battled to a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Harrogate Town at Vale Park last week, to maintain our unbeaten start to the Sky Bet League Two campaign.

Despite not being able to find the back of the net, the Vale back-line impressed yet again, with Scott Brown pulling off some impressive stops to deny Harrogate from taking all three points, and Leon Legge putting in a man of the match performance, to preserve our clean sheet and maintain our record of not conceding a league goal so far this season.

John Askey has been given a boost with James Gibbons fit enough to be available to be considered for selection, whilst Tom Pope has served his six-game suspension and is now also available for action for the Valiants. However, the side has been dealt a blow after Zak Mills was ruled out for up to four weeks this week, after sustaining a hamstring injury in last weekend’s clash with Harrogate Town.

“If we want to achieve something, we have got to go to places like that [Morecambe] and get results.”

 

John Askey, Port Vale Manager

 

Morecambe

Manager: Derek Adams

Form: WLLWL

Top Goal Scorer: Adam Phillips (3 goals)

Despite suffering from some indifferent form in the domestic cup competitions, Morecambe have got off to a good start in the league, earning 6 points from a possible 9.

They come into the game on the back of a mid-week defeat at Salford City, after they lost 2-0 in an EFL Trophy tie at the Peninsula Stadium, but they will be boosted by the fact they won their last league game, after winning 2-1 at Southend United last weekend.

Derek Adams now has two more players to choose from in his side, after new signings Liam Gibson and Yann Songo’o made their Shrimps debuts last week at Southend and Salford respectively.

 

One to watch: Adam Phillips

Phillips signed for Morecambe on loan until the end of the season, for the second time in as many seasons, in August 2020.

The Shrimps midfielder and top-scorer spent his youth career at both Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool, before he signed for Norwich City in July 2017.

After spending time on loan at Cambridge United and Hamilton Academical, Phillips then secured himself a permanent transfer to Premier League side Burnley in August 2019, following a successful trial at the Lancashire club.

He first signed for Morecambe in January of this year, where he made 11 appearances and scored four goals in his first spell with the Shrimps, before the 2019/20 season was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since re-signing for the Shrimps in August 2020, he has already reached three goals for the season, whilst putting in some impressive displays for Derek Adams’ side.

Talk:

John Askey: “We know that if we go to Morecambe and compete, we’ve got a really good chance.”

Derek Adams: “They have seven points so far this season and we’re looking forward to it as you should with all games against the top teams.”

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.