Match Preview: Grimsby Town (A)

Match Preview: Grimsby Town (A)

Port Vale will be looking to build on last weekend’s victory over Bradford City and extend our run to ten games without defeat, when we travel to Blundell Park to take on Grimsby Town. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.

Fixture: Grimsby Town vs Port Vale

Competition: Sky Bet League Two

Date: Saturday 1st May

Kick-Off: 3:00 pm

Venue: Blundell Park

Referee: Will Finnie

 

Port Vale

Manager: Darrell Clarke

Form: WWDWW

Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (11 goals)

The Valiants will be hoping to pick up where they left off against Bradford City last weekend, when we travel to relegated Grimsby Town on Saturday.

Three points over the Bantams meant that we leapfrogged them in the Sky Bet League Two table, and pushed ourselves into the top half of the table ahead of this weekend’s meeting at Blundell Park.

Tom Conlon’s converted penalty against Bradford meant that he became the first Vale central midfielder to reach double figures in the goalscoring charts since Micky Cummins achieved the same amount in the 2005/06 season. His performance also earned a place in the Sky Bet League Two Team of the Week.

Darrell Clarke will be hoping the skipper and the rest of the team can replicate their recent form going into the final two matches of the season, with full attention focused on getting two positive results to end the campaign on a high note.

We came out of the reverse fixture against the Mariners as 3-0 victors back in January, after goals from Shaun Brisley, Devante Rodney and an own goal from Luke Waterfall secured the three points for us at Vale Park.

A win for the Valiants on Saturday could place us as high as tenth position in the league table going into the final game of the season, should results go our way this weekend.

“We’re all enjoying this run of games and you have to enjoy these occasions, but the focus on Saturday is to win the game.”

Darrell Clarke, Port Vale manager

 

Grimsby Town

Manager: Paul Hurst

Form: LWLWL

Top Goal Scorer: Lenell John-Lewis (4 goals)

It has been a struggle of a season for the Mariners this campaign, with the club’s relegation to the National League having been secured on Tuesday evening following a 3-2 defeat to Exeter City.

The Mariners sit bottom of the Sky Bet League Two table, but they could move up to 23rd in the table with a victory on Saturday, and you’d imagine that Paul Hurst’s side will want to put on a performance ahead of their National League campaign next season.

Despite relegation being secured on Wednesday, the Mariners recent form has been improved while still inconsistent rather than disastrous in recent games, tending to follow up defeats with a victory, so the Valiants will have to be on our game to secure a positive result at Blundell Park.

One to watch: Elliott Hewitt

The 26-year-old versatile defender or midfielder started out his career at Macclesfield Town after graduating through the youth academy at the Moss Rose.

After making 25 appearances for the Silkmen, he was signed by Ipswich Town in 2012, spending three seasons at Portman Road, during which time he had loan spells with Gillingham and Colchester United.

The former Wales Under-21 international then signed for Notts County in 2015, and played a central part in their 2017-18 campaign which saw the Magpies reach the Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-finals.

He made 152 appearances for County, netting eight times, before his 2018-19 season came to a premature end in February due to injury, with Hewitt joining the Mariners in 2019, where he has become a key figure, with a goal and an assist to his name so far this season.

Talk:

Darrell Clark: “It’s sad to see that Grimsby have been relegated, all I can say is that I think they’ve got a fantastic fanbase. We go there in difficult circumstances for them, but we have to be professional about our job and that’s what we intend to be.”

Coverage:

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