Two minute guide to: Leyton Orient (A)
Will Port Vale be able to turn their form around with a visit to relegation threatened Leyton Orient?
Port Vale
Manager: Rob Page
Last match: 0-1 vs Sheff Utd
Form guide: L-L-L-W-L
Leyton Orient
Manager: Fabio Liverani
Last match: 0-1 vs Crawley
Form guide: L-D-W-L-L
Team news
Michael Brown: misses the game through suspension
After a period of generally consistent team selection, it could be all change for the Valiants after a busy loan transfer deadline day. There are three lead contenders to replace the suspended Michael Brown with Chris Birchall and loanees Tommy O’Sullivan and Junior looking to start. Another loanee Mohamed Coulibaly could play on the wing as Byron Moore is a doubt, but veteran defender Neill Collins could come straight into the back four. With captain Carl Dickinson fit again there is plenty of competition for the defence.
Loanee Jake Taylor will be added to the Leyton Orient squad after joining from Reading. Fellow midfielder Lloyd James could also be involved for the first time since breaking his leg in September.
Here’s our finger in the air, Vale starting eleven…
Neal
Veseli – Collins – Robertson – McGivern
Marshall – O’Connor – O’Sullivan – Coulibaly
Dodds
Pope
Pre-match quote
“Fair play to the chairman because he has backed me in what I want to do. I want to show that we are not just happy to play the season out. We want to finish on a high and we want to have a right good go…”
– Rob Page on making three additions to his Port Vale squad on Thursday
Last time we met
Ben Williamson: last Vale player to score against Orient
The Vale secured a comfortable 3-0 home win back in October. A rare goal from Adam Yates started the scoring before Ben Williamson scored a well-executed second and the match was rounded up with an Orient own-goal. Here are the match highlights:
Trivia
- Vale have to go back to 1994 for their last away win over Orient. It came in a 3-2 win thanks to a hat-trick from Martin Foyle.
- Which means that the last three visits to Brisbane Road have all ended in defeat.
- Recent matches have also been pretty entertaining affairs with 31 goals scored in the last nine encounters, an average of 3.4 goals per game.
- 95 years ago, Vale recorded eight goals in two games against Leyton Orient. Vale won 4-2 (Bob Blood (2), Brough, o.g) at home in 1919 and again won at home in 1921 – this time by a 4-0 scoreline (Bob Blood (2), Wooton, Page).
- But those results are not Vale’s biggest winning scoreline. In 1927, Vale recorded a hefty 5-1 FA Cup win thanks to goals from Wilf Kirkham (2), Page, Strange and Sims.
Overall record
- Vale wins: 33
- Orient wins: 17
- Draws: 8
They played for both…
Players to appear for both sides include:
- Midfielder Anthony Griffith (right)
- Midfielder Ian Bogie
- Striker Keith Houchen
- Midfielder Marc Laird
- Defender Darren Purse
- Defender Dean Smith