Port Vale v Oldham Athletic preview – can Valiants further cement their place in top three?
Port Vale v Oldham preview – the Valiants will be hoping to beat strugglers Oldham Athletic and boost their promotion hopes. Who will prevail? Here’s our preview…
Match details
Details:
Port Vale v Oldham Athletic
League Two
Vale Park Stadium
Saturday April 9th, 2022, 3pm
Last time we met?
Two late goals saw Vale suffer a shock 3-2 away loss earlier in the season
Overall record:
33 Vale wins, 21 draws and 30 defeats.
Valiants team news
It’s highly likely to be “same again” for the Valiants after their fine run of recent form. Only injury is likely to cause any changes to the starting line-up. A further boost to the Valiants is that their bench strength and depth has been boosted by the return of Jake Taylor and Dan Jones which offers cover in central defence and midfield.
In terms of the injured list, captain Tom Conlon is out for the rest of the season but Crosby could soon be further boosted by the return of three more players. He told the press “Gibbo (James Gibbons) is getting closer, as is Lucas (Covolan), as is Chris Hussey.”
Bin the boos – back the boys
OVF recently published this appeal for supporters to get behind the team as the Valiants approach the crucial final stages of the season.
Opposition team news
Oldham could start with Jamie Hopcutt upfront after the striker netted the winner against Stevenage.
Man in charge: John Sheridan
- Age: 57
- Games in charge: 14
- Win ratio: 33%
The experienced manager is back for a sixth (counting caretaker roles) spell in charge of the Latics.
Recent form…
Port Vale
It’s now just one loss in seventeen for the Valiants with their recent form cementing their place in the automatic promotion spots.
Form (all competitions):
Top scorer (all competitions):
Garrity, Wilson (11)
The opposition
The Latics recently ended a run of six straight losses with two wins in a row and two clean sheets.
Form (all competitions) :
Top scorer (all competitions):
Kellior-Dunn (12)
Current connections
Summer signing Ben Garrity will be keen to show Oldham fans what they are missing. At Boundary Park, Garrity made 29 League appearances and scored two times. However, as one of seven loan signings by then Oldham manager Harry Kewell he often faced a battle to be in the match squad while injuries also limited his appearances during his time at the club. He’s impressed since joining the Valiants, scoring eleven times so far.
Port Vale winger/wingback David Worrall also spend a spell on loan at Oldham back in 2014. He made eighteen appearances, scoring once. Worrall is now closing on two hundred appearances for the Valiants after joining in 2017.
On the opposing side, former Port Vale loanee Callum Whelan is in the Oldham squad. The former Man Utd midfielder failed to make a senior appearance during his time at Vale Park but now has 59 appearances for the Latics. There’s also former loanee Sam Hart, who has recently returned to the line-up after injury.
Vintage connection
Midfielder Danny Whitaker served both clubs with distinction. The elegant midfielder joined the Valiants in 2006 after leaving Macclesfield Town. He was near ever-present during his first season and made over 40 appearances in his second. However, with Vale’s wage bill cut after relegation, Whitaker rejected a new contract and opted to join Oldham. He had made 98 appearances and scored 15 times for the Valiants.
His spell at Oldham saw him make 87 appearances and score 11 times over a two year spell. He later had spells with Chesterfield and a second spell with Macclesfield, finishing with 762 appearances and 126 goals.
Potted history
The club was founded in 1895 under the name Pine Villa. In 1899, they changed their name to Oldham Athletic and were elected to the Football League in 1907. They finished second in the First Division in 1915 and during the glory years of the 1990s they reached the League Cup final and two FA Cup semi-finals. They also became founding members of the Premier League in 1992.
Boundary Park was originally opened in 1896 for Oldham County. When that club collapsed in 1899, Oldham Athletic took over the stadium. The record attendance is over 43,000 for a game against Sheffield Wednesday in 1930.
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 Oldham manager?
- When were Oldham formed?
- Which current Port Vale midfielder also played for Oldham?
Quiz answers (no cheating):
- Oldham 3-2 Port Vale
- John Sheridan (again)
- 1895
- Ben Garrity