Two minute guide to: Port Vale v Bolton

Next up is a MUST-WIN game against Bolton Wanderers – a team that Vale have beaten just twice in 35 meetings. Still feeling confident?

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The two sides

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Match details

Venue:

Vale Park

Date:

22nd April, 2017

Pre-match thoughts

Both captain Ben Purkiss and manager Michael Brown have spoken about the importance of the final three games of the season.

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Vale team news

It could be that Vale’s hopes of ending a four game scoreless streak could lie with youngster Dan Turner. The former youth teamer could have scored his first senior goal against Oxford only to be ruled offside. However, after an impressive sub appearance, Turner may start ahead of JJ Hooper upfront.

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Last time we met…

The two teams last met earlier this season when Vale crashed to a 3-1 defeat. The highlights are above.

We’ve also got highlights of a clash from the 1988-89 season below. This is taken from our OVF YouTube channel:

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Form guide

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Club connections

Defender Jason Talbot never played a first-team game for Bolton Wanderers. When he moved to Port Vale he did make the first-team – but hit the headlines mostly for the wrong reasons.

Talbot joined Vale in January 2006 and spent two years at the club. However, in that period he managed to get sent-off no less than five times – a club record. It was no great surprise when he was released in 2008.

Vale appearances: 60 games | 0 goals (and five red cards)

Other players to appear for both clubs include:

• Forward Dennis Bailey
• Midfielder Tony Kelly
• Forward Dean Holdsworth
• Keeper Alan Boswell
• Left-back Ray Deakin
• Forward Craig Davies
• Keeper Barry Siddall

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Did you know…

• Vale have won just two competitive games against Bolton
• One is shown in the video clip above. The other was in the same season – a 2-1 FA Cup win.
• The winning cup goals were scored by Ron Futcher and Robbie Earle (right)
• All of which means Vale have failed to record a win in their last 14 meetings.

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