Port Vale versus Mansfield Town – a brief preview
James Russell looks ahead to the match against Mansfield Town on Saturday.
James Russell writes…
Let’s be clear – the last month was one of the worst months that Port Vale FC fans have seen in a long time. Our favourite team lost four out of six last matches and the other two ended in draws.
A few days ago, Port Vale lost a chance to get three points in the match against the league’s worst team so far – Notts County. As a result of that, Port Vale remains in the danger zone which can ultimately lead to relegation. However, there’s enough time for the lads to get back on their feet and secure a position that will let them have a better season for the remainder of the English League Two.
According to some experts, the upcoming match against Mansfield can change a lot of things. The match is scheduled for 9th March. So, in a few days, Port Vale will meet one of the teams that are hoping to get promoted to League One. For some fans, beating Mansfield may seem like a mission impossible, but that’s not true. Just like the rest of the teams, Mansfield have had their ups and down in the last couple of months. In the last two matches, they’ve managed to defeat their opponents including one of their direct rivals Forest Green. However, just a few weeks ago, they lost to Notts County. So, if Notts County managed to defeat Mansfield, Port Vale should have a chance too.
What’s worrying is that Port Vale have disastrous statistics when it comes to home matches, but after more than six lost matches in a row at home, maybe it’s finally time for a win. The last match that these two teams played was in November 2018 when Mansfield won, but they scored just one goal and Port Vale played with ten players for 30 minutes. Before that, back in April 2018, the match between these two teams ended in a draw.
The good thing is that Port Vale are not struggling with injuries and manager John Askey is really trying to boost the morale of this team. To be honest, this match is not crucial for the team, but it would be great if they can break the losing streak this Saturday. It would certainly help the players feel a little bit relaxed before their next match which is against Yeovil, another team that is close to the relegation zone. This match will be played at Vale Park too.
All in all, Port Vale are not in a good shape, but it’s not quite relegation yet. The season is far from over, but according to many bookmakers, the chances of Port Vale to keep its status as League Two team are high. The same goes for football betting sites providing information to punters like Football Junkie. It usually takes one good result to help a team overcome problems and even if they don’t manage to get a good score this weekend, it’s very likely that the team will be victorious on their next match against Yeovil.