Shrewsbury Town v Port Vale preview – Valiants badly need to find form…
After a controversial game against Accrington, Darrell Clarke’s side need to put on a better display on Saturday afternoon.
Predict the score
Preamble
After a controversial draw on Tuesday, the Valiants need to placate some disgruntled fans with a much better performance. However, with Ellis Harrison and James Wilson still expected to miss out – where will the goals come from?
Pre-match comments
Frustrating periods like the one we are having now are part and parcel of that, but hopefully with one or two players coming back, getting some training and match minutes, we are going to be a lot more competitive with the teams we are able to pick, getting one or two of our big players back is a massive plus, but we still realise that we have a lot of work to do to try and reach the top of this division.
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke
To be on this winning run is very satisfying. We are a tight group and we have big conversations in terms of what’s needed, even now, to kick on again.
Shrewsbury Town defender Taylor Moore
We need our supporters to get behind us this week and cheer every tackle, every throw-in, everything that goes on. Hopefully, our three sides will be very vocal.
Shrewsbury Town manager Steve Cotterill
Port Vale team news
Will this be the first game in yonks where the Valiants can field two experienced forwards upfront? Jamie Proctor started against Accrington and the indications are that January loan signing Matt Taylor could also be fit for this game. It’s less clear if James Wilson and Ellis Harrison are fit to feature though.
Opposition team news
Matt Pennington faces a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s game and will be assessed before the match to see if he is fit enough to feature.
Form guide
Vale’s poor form contrasts with the winning run that Shrewsbury are on an unbeaten run…
Port Vale: L-L-D-L-D
Shrewsbury: W-W-W-W-W
Man in charge
The well-travelled Steve Cotterill took over in November 2020. Cotterill has a win ratio of 35% with Shrewsbury and has managed over 750 games in a career that has taken in spells at Stoke City, Bristol City and Cheltenham Town.
Familiar faces
In the Shrewsbury ranks is former Port Vale loanee Rekeil Pyke. The then Huddersfield Town striker had a largely uneventful loan spell with the Valiants in 2017 when he made nine appearances and failed to score. He moved to Shrewsbury in 202o and now has three goals from forty appearances.
Vintage connection
Promotion-winning goalkeeper Chris Neal made almost 150 appearances for the Valiants. He joined the Vale in 2012 after a three year spell with Shrewsbury Town.
Through the years…
The two sides first met in 1958 when it ended in a 2-0 away defeat to the Valiants. However, things have been decent for the Valiants in away fixtures with the side unbeaten in their last four visits to Shrewsbury.
Last time we met…
The Valiants enjoyed a thumping Football League Trophy victory 4-0. The Vale hero was Dennis Politic with a hat-trick.
Overall record
19 Port Vale wins
18 draws
20 Port Vale losses
From the archives
In this feature, we leaf through the pages of a 1968 FA Cup programme and a rare goalkeeping appearance for a player who would find fame elsewhere…
A brief history of…
The club was founded in 1886 and after a period in non-league they joined the Football League in 1950. They suffered relegation out of the League in 2003 only to regain it in 2004. The club has reached the semi-finals of the Football League cup as well as winning the Welsh Cup on six occasions.
Were you paying attention?
Our traditional quiz…
- Who is the current Shrewsbury manager?
- What was the score the last time the two teams met?
- In which year were the club formed?
- Which former Vale loan striker is in the Shrewsbury squad?
Answers below (no cheating)…
Quiz answers…
- Steve Cotterill
- Shrewsbury Town 0-4 Port Vale
- 1886
- Rekeil Pyke