Port Vale v Crawley Town – can Valiants reset after Colchester defeat?
Port Vale v Crawley Town preview – Vale’s nine game unbeaten run came to an end against Colchester – will they immediately bounce back at home? Here’s our preview…
Match details
Details:
Port Vale v Crawley Town
League Two
Vale Park Stadium
Saturday March 12th, 2022, 3pm
Last time we met?
It finished in a comprehensive 4-1 away win for the Valiants back in October.
Overall record:
9 Vale wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats.
Valiants team news
How will Vale reset after that upset at Colchester? The side will have to do it without two key players in Tom Conlon and James Gibbons.
Striker Jamie Proctor may return to the starting line-up after appearing as a sub against Colchester while other choices include Tom Pett or Harry Charsley in midfield and Brad Walker or Aaron Martin in the back three.
Opposition team news
Striker Kwesi Appiah was a half-time sub against Bristol Rovers following a long absence and could feature against the Valiants.
Man in charge: John Yems
- Age: 62
- Games in charge: 110
- Win ratio: 34%
Appointed in December 2019, Yems was handed the managerial reigns after several years as a football scout.
Recent form…
Port Vale
The Valiants are badly in need of all three points after just one win in their last six games.
Form (all competitions):
Top scorer (all competitions):
Wilson, Proctor, Garrity (8)
The opposition
Crawley are on a decent run of form with just one defeat in their last eight games.
Form (all competitions) :
Top scorer (all competitions):
Appiah (9)
Current connections
Vale’s forward Jamie Proctor had a spell with Crawley between 2013 and 2014. Vale’s joint top-scorer so far this season netted fourteen times in 67 games for Crawley.
The Valiants could also face former winger Mark Marshall who joined the club in the summer. The 34 year-old spent a single season with the Valiants between 2014 and 2015. The diminutive wideman impressed at Vale Park after he scored seven times in 46 League appearances. After departing the Valiants, Marshall had spells with Bradford City, Charlton Athletic, Gillingham and Northampton Town.
Vintage connection
Striker Tyrone Barnett had contrasting spells with both clubs. He joined Crawley in 2011 and scored the side’s first-ever Football League goal. His form was such that he attracted the attention of rival clubs. After hitting fourteen goals during 2011-12, he was snapped up by Peterborough United for a fee believed to be around £1.1m.
In contrast, Barnett’s spell at Vale Park was less spectacular. Signed in the summer of 2017 by Michael Brown, he struggled to break into the side and was transfer listed in the summer of 2018 by Brown’s replacement Neil Aspin. Barnett left to join Cheltenham in August 2018 having scored just twice in 28 games for the Valiants.
Potted history
The club was formed as Crawley Football Club in 1896 and changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. Controversial manager Steve Evans steered them into the Football League in 2011. In 2012, they went up to League One before being relegated back to League Two in 2015.
Were you paying attention?
Here’s a quick quiz on the opponents:
- What was the score the last time the two sides met?
- Who is the current Crawley manager?
- When were Crawley formed?
- In what year did they enter the Football League?
Quiz answers (no cheating):
- Crawley Town 1-4 Port Vale
- John Yems
- 1896
- 2011