Match Preview: Crawley v Port Vale, December 14th 2019
Can Port Vale bounce back from their shock Walsall defeat with a win at Crawley?
Team news
Vale will be grateful to see Luke Joyce (pictured right) return from suspension after he missed the defeat against Walsall. David Worrall will still be missing and the return of Rhys Browne from injury could see him replace the forward. Tom Conlon will be missing through suspension while Shaun Brisley is still missing leaving Vale short of central defensive options.
Stats
The last match resulted in a Vale away victory as Ricky Miller (right) scored the winner in a 1-0 win back in January. Vale completed a double by winning the earlier home fixture 1-0 thanks to a strike by Luke Hannant. The overall record is six Vale wins, three Vale losses and a solitary draw.
Opposition Guide
Managed by the relatively unknown former scout John Yems who was appointed last week, Crawley’s top-scorer is Ollie Palmer with four goals. Well-known faces include midfielder Dannie Bullman, veteran goalkeeper Glenn Morris and the well-travelled midfielder Jimmy Smith.
Connections
Port Vale back-up goalkeeper Jonny Maddison (right) will be visiting a club where he spent a year between 2013 and 2014. However, the young keeper failed to make a senior appearance for the club. Facing Maddison could be former Vale midfielder Nathan Ferguson who joined Crawley in the summer. Ferguson made no senior appearances for Vale during a one year stay.
Pre-match quote
“They’ve got a change of manager, so it will be a little bit new compared to what they have previously been doing, so we’ll have to take a look closely at their last game against Stevenage, we’ll be ready, and well prepared and hopefully well up for the game. It’s our next game so it’s our next opportunity, we will be going there positive, we are relatively happy with how we have been playing and the results we’ve been picking up. Obviously Saturday was a setback but now is the next one and that is our opportunity to get three points…”
Port Vale coach Dave Kevan (right)
Memory match
The 2013 fixture at Crawley was notable as Tom Pope was dropped for the then comparatively unknown Jordan Hugill. The youngster made an immediate impact inspiring Vale to a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Louis Dodds, Doug Loft and Ben Wiliamson. Hugill went on to net Vale a £1.8m sell-on fee as part of his £10m transfer from Preston to West Ham.