Two minute guide to: Peterborough
Here’s our brief guide to Port Vale’s final game of the season – Saturday’s game against Peterborough United.
Port Vale
Manager: Micky Adams
Last game: 1-2 vs Sheff Utd
Form: L-L-W-L-W
Top scorer: Pope (16)
Peterborough Utd
Manager: Darren Ferguson
Last game: 4-2 vs Shrewsbury
Form: W-W-L-W-W
Top scorer: Assombalonga (32)
Team news
Anthony Griffith: time for a swansong?
With not too much to play for, one would hope that some of Vale’s departing quartet will have a chance for a last farewall to the Vale fans. Liam Chilvers and Rob Taylor are likely to be unfit but it would be nice if Anthony Griffith and Chris Shuker both got a brief cameo from the bench. It would also be nice to see Ryan Lloyd given more experience after he was offered a new contract for next season.
Pre-match quotes
Mark Grew on the game
“I want three points from the game. We have lost the last two and that doesn’t sit nicely with me. I thought we were particularly good against Sheffield United for eighty minutes, tactically I thought we were spot on, we just went to sleep in the last ten minutes and got done. Some people would say that’s the story of our season, but I would like to go to Peterborough and get another three points – I certainly don’t want to write this season off with three defeats.”
– Micky Adams
“We want to win. There’s no point just turning up and pottering around or you are not doing any justice to yourself or the fans, who pay a lot of money to travel a fair way to watch you.”
– Carl Dickinson echoes his manager’s thoughts
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson: a last-gasp winner eleven years ago
Last time we met
The Valiants lost narrowly at home as Peterborough won 1-0 thanks to Tyrone Barnett’s 86th minute winner.
Overall record
- Vale wins: 16
- Peterborough wins: 16
- Draws: 13
Did you know?
The last time Vale won at London Road was back in 2003 when Vale won 2-1. In a dramatic finish, Steve Brooker put Vale ahead on 73 minutes, former Vale loanee Andy Clarke equalised for ten man Posh on 86 minutes and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson hit a 90th minute winner.
Connections
Featured connection:
David Riley (right) faced no ordinary task when he joined the Vale back in 1987. Goal machine Andy Jones had left for Charlton Athletic and many fans expected Riley to be a like-for-like replacement.
Riley’s record looked good; he had two goals from twelve appearances for Forest and two decent loan spells (two goals in six games for Darlington and two goals in twelve games for Peterborough). When he scored in his first three Vale games, all looked well…
But Riley was no Jones. He didn’t have Jones’ star appeal and charisma. Instead of Jones’ powerful physique, Riley was small and lacked pace. But he was versatile.
An injury to Paul Atkinson resulted in a gap on Vale’s left. Riley was shunted out there and though he didn’t excel, his sheer graft gradually won over the fans. He played the majority of the games in the 1988-1989 promotion season scoring three goals in 43 appearances.
But the move to the higher division spelt the end of Riley’s Vale spell. He rejoined Peterborough in 1990 and later on had spells in non-league football.
He now runs a kitchen unit manufacturing company.
Connections:
Other players to appear for both sides include Dave Hibbert, Leon Constantine, David Riley, Justin Richards, Sagi Burton (right), Ernie Moss, Brian Jackson, Ronnie Jepson, Krystian Pearce, Gary Pollard, Kenny Beech, Les Lawrence, Carl Griffiths, Exodus Geoghaghan, Billy Kellock and Danny Sonner.
Jim Gannon has managed both sides with differing success.
Highlights
Action from Vale’s defeat earlier in the season.
Any other business
It was reported that Vale would try and show-off next season’s away kit during the game.