Grimsby Town v Port Vale preview
Grimsby Town v Port Vale preview: can the Valiants make it ten unbeaten when they face relegated Grimsby Town?
Image: “Blundell Park, Grimsby Town” by diamond geezer is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Have your say:
Want to share your thoughts on this game? Join our dedicated match thread.
You need to be a registered user of our forum but registration is simple and free. Join the debate through the button below…
DISCUSS THIS GAME ON THE DEDICATED FORUM THREAD
Match details:
Teams: Grimsby Town v Port Vale
Competition: League Two
Venue: Blundell Park Stadium
Kick-off: Saturday 1st May, 3pm
Form guide:
Inspired by the form of captain Tom Conlon and reinvigorated by manager Darrell Clarke, the Valiants have been in sublime form and are looking to make it ten unbeaten. Grimsby’s form picked up a little recently but sadly for them, it was not enough to avoid the drop. They have two wins in their last five matches.
Port Vale team news:
What Port Vale starting eleven will manager Darrell Clarke put out? He’s promised a few changes as he looks at his squad options for the remainder of the season so it’s going to be tricky to predict. However, Danny Whitehead (pictured) came in from the cold and did well on Saturday so he may get another start and chance to impress. There’s a whole host of players who would hope to join him in the starting eleven including – David Amoo, Tom Pope, Alex Hurst, Mustapha Olagunju and Scott Burgess. Zak Mills, David Fitzpatrick and Dino Visser all remain unavailable through injury. However, as Clarke says he wants to maintain the winning form, it’s equally possible that he may stick with the same side which came back to defeat Bradford.
Possible Starting XI:
Brown – Smith, Legge, Brisley – Gibbons, Joyce, Conlon, Whitehead, Worrall – Swan, Robinson
One to watch:
It was a little surprising that influential skipper didn’t get into the League Two side of the season but ever efficient winger David Worrall did. We expect him to be his usual energetic and skilful presence on the wing for this game.
Opposition manager:
It’s fair to say that Paul Hurst’s second spell as Grimsby Town manager has not been as happy or as successful as his first. Hurst had a memorable spell as manager between 2013 and 2016 where he won both promotion and the FA Trophy. However, in his second spell he has overseen relegation although that is more the fault of his predecessor Ian Holloway than Hurst’s. In his second spell at the club Hurst has been in charge for 23 games with a 17% win ratio.
Opposition team:
There’s some well-known faces in Grimsby’s now relegated squad. There’s experienced strike duo – former Bradford City striker James Hanson and former Mansfield man Matt Green; Portuguese winger Filipe Morais and captain James McKeown in goal. Lennell John-Lewis is the top-scorer in the League with four goals.
Connections:
He’s ruled out of this game through injury but Vale defender Zak Mills had a spell with Grimsby Town back in 2016. He stayed for two years and made sixty six appearances.
Looking back through recent years, other players to have spells at both clubs include winger Rhys Browne (pictured), striker JJ Hooper, winger Sam Kelly and striker Alex Jones.
Looking a lot further back, striker Chris Young had multiple spells at both clubs. He started his career with Grimsby in 1905 before joining Port Vale in 1913. He made 64 Central League appearances for the Valiants scoring an impressive 54 goals. He later had a wartime stint back at Grimsby before returning to Vale for two post-war spells.
Last time we met:
It finished in a comprehensive 3-0 Port Vale win at Vale Park back in January. Vale’s goals came from Devante Rodney (pictured), Shaun Brisley and an own-goal from Luke Waterfall. It was a less happy affair on Vale’s last trip to Grimsby with the side crashing 5-2 in 2019.
You have to go back to 2009 for Vale’s last away win over Grimsby – it finished 2-1 with goals for Sean Rigg (pictured) and Rob Taylor.
Overall record – 41 Port Vale wins, 34 Port Vale losses and 18 draws.
