Port Vale v Cambridge United preview – Vale looking to avoid being April fools at Vale Park…
Port Vale v Cambridge United preview: after an impressive away display at Pompey, Vale take on struggling Cambridge at home…
Match Info
Venue: Vale Park stadium | Date: 1st April 2022, 3pm | Competition: League One
Predict the score
Pre-match quotes
I have said it before, after the Bolton game, the left half of the table, the top 12, is the goal and we are still pushing for that. I don’t think we think it’s a difficult achievement. I think it is there for us for the taking. After results like this, when you have been this close, you don’t want to keep saying, ‘we will do it next week’, because before you know it, it is the start of May and the season is done. But we think it’s there for us and we will just keep performing.
Port Vale midfielder Funso Ojo
Port Vale team news
The Valiants will be boosted by the return of defender Will Forrester and midfielder Ben Garrity after they both returned from injury. However, both may find it tricky to nab a place in the starting line-up after Sammy Robinson did well in the back three while captain Tom Conlon had one of his better games in the midfield on Saturday.
Matty Taylor scored at the weekend and his developing partnership with former Bristol Rovers strike partner Ellis Harrison is expected to be given another run our. Defender Dan Jones is ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Opposition team news
Liam O’Neil has picked up a slight hamstring problem, while Harvey Knibbs and striker Joe Ironside will need to be assessed before the match.
Man in charge
Head coach Mark Bonner was caretaker for a two month period before being handed the job on a permanent basis in March 2020. He guided the side to promotion to League One in 2021. He has a win ratio of 40% from 165 games in charge.
Familiar faces
There are no current players who have appeared for both clubs but there are plenty who have featured for both in recent years. The list includes:
- Strapping central defender Leon Legge
- Giant goalkeeper Tomas Holy
- Winger Luke Hannant
- Striker Ben Williamson
- Forward David Amoo
Looking further back, some players to appear for both sides include:
- Full-back Wayne Ebanks
- Vale legend Ray Walker
- Targetman Sammy Morgan
Through the years…
The two sides first met in 1973 when it finished in a 2-1 home victory for the Valiants. Vale Park has been something of a fortress for the Valiants with the side only ever losing once to United in a competitive fixture.
Last time we met…
The Valiants recorded a valuable 1-0 away win earlier this season.
Overall record
11 Port Vale wins | 2 draws | 9 Port Vale losses
From the archives
Vintage action from 1991, courtesy of this website’s YouTube channel, when midfielder Andy Porter scored the winner:
A brief history of…
The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United, named after the Abbey district of Cambridge. In 1949 the club turned professional, and changed its name to Cambridge United in 1951. They were elected to the Football League in 1970. The side won six promotions in 35 years before being relegated into the National League in 2005. They re-entered the League in 2014 and won promotion to League One in 2021.
Were you paying attention?
Our traditional quiz…
- Who is the current Cambridge manager?
- What was the score the last time the two teams met?
- In which year were the club formed?
- In what year did they return to the Football League?
Answers below (no cheating)…
- Mark Bonner
- Cambridge Utd 0-1 Cambridge Utd
- 1912
- 2014