Two minute guide to: Yeovil (A)
It’s nearly the end of this season’s quick guides – here’s our two minute guide to Yeovil Town…
Port Vale
Manager: Rob Page
Last match: 2-2 vs Preston
Form guide: D-D-D-L-L
Yeovil
Manager: Paul Sturrock
Last match: 1-0 vs Swindon
Form guide: W-W-D-L-L
Team news
Tom Pope: back in the starting eleven?
Rob Page may be tempted to bring Tom Pope, fitness permitting, back into his starting eleven. Pope made an impact against Preston when he replaced a lacklustre Achille Campion. The team should remain unchanged unless Page wants to partner Pope with Louis Dodds in which case Mo Coulibaly would come in on the wing.
Yeovil will be boosted by the return of their captain Joe Edwards after an ankle injury.
Possible Vale line-up
Neal
Veseli – Duffy – Collins – Dickinson (c)
Dodds – Brown – O’Connor – Marshall
Pope – Williamson
Pre-match quote
“Now we take that confidence again into Saturday’s game and give that level of performance and if we do I’m confident we will get the win…”
– Rob Page
Last time we met
The Valiants secured one of the more comfortable home wins of the season, winning 4-1 back in October. Tom Pope started the scoring with two goals in the first-half before Chris Lines added a third and sub Colin Daniel a late fourth.
Overall record
- Vale wins: 3
- Yeovil wins: 3
- Draws: 1
Trivia
Vale have yet to win at Huish Park with the home side winning all three encounters by the scoreline 1-0.
Just SEVEN players have scored for Vale against Yeovil. They are Tom Pope (2), Chris Lines, Colin Daniel, Leon Constantine (3), Adam Eckersley, Paul Edwards and Danny Whitaker.
They played for both…
Colin Miles (above) is regarded as a cult hero in the Yeovil area but sadly his exploits for the Valiants are less lauded. The tough-tackling defender joined Vale in 2006 after a five year spell with the Glovers. But his time at Vale Park was notable only for a series of injuries and loss of form. He was released in 2008 and joined Woking.
A more recognisable Vale hero is Basil Hayward (right) who was the striker in the legendary 1954 team. He finished his Football League playing career in 1960 after a brief spell at Portsmouth and joined Yeovil as player-manager.
Hayward was in charge during a number of notable FA Cup wins before leaving the role in 1964.
Other players to appear for both clubs include:
- Striker Gavin Tomlin
- Winger Dominic Blizzard
- Winger Abdulai Bell-Baggie
- Striker Luke Rodgers (right)
- Defender Darren Purse
- Striker Craig Davies
- Striker Lee Matthews
- Midfielder Gary Roberts
First meeting
The two sides first met in a competitive fixture in 2005. A League One clash at Huish Park, Yeovil had Gabriel Melono sent-off before Matt Harrold hit a late winner. The Vale team that day included Chris Birchall who could feature this weekend.
Vale’s line-up:
- Mark Goodlad
- George Abbey
- George Pilkington
- Sam Collins
- Steve Rowland (Chris Cornes)
- Chris Birchall
- Danny Sonner
- Tony Dinning (Mark Innes)
- Micky Cummins
- Billy Paynter
- Nathan Lowndes (Gary Mulligan)