Port Vale v Colchester United preview – can Valiants make it five in a row at home?
Port Vale v Colchester United preview: victory over Colchester would make it five straight home wins but Vale will have to do it without several key players. Here’s our match preview…
Match details
Details:
Port Vale v Colchester United, League Two
Where:
Vale Park stadium
When:
Saturday 23rd October, 3pm
Last time we met?
Striker Devante Rodney struck an nineteenth minute winner as the Valiants won at the Jobserve Community stadium last season. The match at Vale Park ended in a 1-1 draw with Luke Norris cancelling out Rodney’s opener.
Overall record:
22 Vale wins, 16 draws and 25 defeats.
Pre-match quotes
We weren’t at our best but it’s a good point. I think Mansfield are a good team. We have to flip this to Colchester at the weekend, if we can take all three points then this is an even better point…
Port Vale captain Tom Conlon
We just take it (the draw at Mansfield) on the chin, it’s League Two football. We address it, we analyse it and then we have a home game on Saturday so we can turn it into a really positive week…
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke
They’ve got a good manager and they’re a good side who have done really well, so it will be a tough game…
Colchester Utd manager Hayden Mullins
Valiants team news
The loss of key forward Jamie Proctor for two weeks is a big loss for the Valiants and manager Darrell Clarke will be hoping that other players step up to compensate. The partnership of George Lloyd and James Wilson didn’t really fire against Mansfield Town and so other players could feature, depending on the formation selected. Contenders include Dennis Politic and fit again Devante Rodney.
Elsewhere, Lewis Cass was rested for the Mansfield game and could come back into the squad while Mal Benning’s place at left-back could be under threat after he failed to build on a promising display against Barrow.
Missing from the squad will be Proctor (out for two weeks), Leon Legge and Alex Hurst.
Opposition team news
Colchester United’s appeal against Junior Tchamadeu’s red card against Bristol Rovers has failed. The defender will therefore miss this game as the first of a three match suspension. Experienced midfielder Cole Skuse could return after limping out of the Rovers game and Miles Welch-Hayes is expected to return to the squad. However, Alan Judge and Ryan Clampin will miss out.
- Man in charge: Hayden Mullins
- Age: 42
- Appointed: March 2021
- Games in charge: 23
- Win ratio: 30%
Headline makers
Selected stories from the local Colchester media…
Colchester United’s FA Cup tie at AFC Sudbury chosen for TV
Colchester United’s FA Cup first-round derby clash at AFC Sudbury is to get national exposure after being selected for live television coverage – Read more
The boy with bravado is showing off his box of tricks
Colchester United’s new playmaking ace, Sylvester Jasper, arrives – Read more
“A special feeling”
Noah Chilvers says it was a ‘special feeling’ to score in front of Colchester United’s home supporters for the first time – Read more
Recent form…
Port Vale
The Valiants dropped to fourth in the League Two table after their draw at Mansfield. However, their recent home form is imperious with four straight wins in League Two at Vale Park.
Form:
Top scorer:
Jamie Proctor (6)
The opposition
Colchester are languishing in nineteenth place in the table following their fiery 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers which saw three players dismissed. However, a positive result against Vale could make it three games unbeaten.
Form:
Top scorer:
Freddie Sears (3)
Current connections
The Valiants will face former Luke Hannant who joined Colchester Utd from Cambridge in the summer. The winger helped Cambridge to promotion to League One last season.
A Neil Aspin signing from Aspin’s former club Gateshead, Hannant joined the Valiants in January 2018 for an undisclosed fee. He was a regular pick during his eighteen month spell in Burslem making 68 appearances and scoring five times before he was surprisingly released by Aspin’s successor John Askey in the summer of 2019.
Hannant subsequently joined Cambridge where he made 77 appearances and scored eight times. The 27 year-old has now made eleven appearances for Colchester this season.
Vintage connection
Defender Liam Chilvers has strong connections with both clubs having had three spells with United and two spells with the Vale.
He started his career at Arsenal and was sent on loan twice to Colchester before he made a permanent switch to the club in 2004. In total, he made 139 appearances for the club, scoring three times.
He initially joined Vale on loan in 2012 which was made into a permanent deal. Chilvers played 21 times during Port Vale’s 2012-13 promotion season and made 50 appearances in total, scoring twice, before leaving in 2014.
He finished his playing career at Hyde having total more than 375 senior appearances.
From the archives
Images from our 3-0 victory back in 2020…
Potted history
The club was formed in 1937 and began playing in the Southern League before joining the Football League in 1950. One of their most memorable games was a 3-2 FA Cup victory over Leeds United in 1971. They left Layer Road after a 71 year stay and relocated to their new stadium in 2008.
Were you paying attention?
Here’s a quick quiz on the opponents:
- Which Vale player scored in both games last season?
- Who is the current Colchester United manager?
- When were Colchester United founded?
- Which former Vale player is in the Colchester squad?
Quiz answers (no cheating):
- Devante Rodney
- Hayden Mullins
- 1937
- Luke Hannant