Leek Town v Port Vale preview – can young Valiants side record a win?

Essentials

Mark Cullen in action during Vale’s friendly with Leek in 2019

• Opposition One: Leek Town
• Kick-off: Wednesday, 6pm
• Competition: Friendly
• Notes: Please note the kick-off time has switched to 6pm because of the England game that evening

Story so far

Ryan Loft plays against Newcastle Town on Friday evening

After a busy summer of signings, Port Vale began their summer campaign with back-to-back games against Newcastle Town and Kidsgrove Athletic. They won the game against Newcastle 3-1 and followed that up with a narrow 1-0 win at Kidsgrove. They also played a behind closed doors game against Rushall Athletic which ended in a 2-2 draw

Those three games involved the Vale first-team but the Valiants have stressed that this game will mostly consist of youth teamers and younger professionals. Among the names who could feature are midfielder Liam Brazier, forward Andrew Buah, defender Ben Lomax and goalkeeper Arron Davies.

The opposition

The Harrison Park stadium

• League: Northern Premier League Premier Division
• Stadium: Harrison Park
• Manager: Josh Brehaut

Connections

Former Vale midfielder Ross Davidson

In addition to manager Josh Brehaut (more on him later) there’s plenty of Vale connections. Former Vale players Danny Pugh and Wayne Corden are on the coaching staff while former midfielder Ross Davidson should face the Valiants. However, another former Vale midfielder, Dan Trickett-Smith, has departed for Hednesford.

Meet the man in charge

Former Port Vale academy coach Josh Brehaut guided the side to promotion last season and in doing so has taken them to their highest League position in sixteen years.

Last time we met…

David Amoo celebrates his goal in 2019

The two sides last met in 2019 when the Valiants ran out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from David Amoo and Tom Pope. The Valiants side for the fixture was:

First-half XI: Brown, Cummings, Crookes, Smith, Kennedy (72′ Campbell-Gordon), Amoo, Oyeleke, Pope, Trickett-Smith, Bennett, Lloyd.

Second-half XI: Maddison, Rawlinson, Crookes, Kennedy, Legge, Joyce, Amoo (78′ Green-Birch), Burgess, Conlon, Cullen, Bennett (62′ Hurst).

Opinion and quiz

Want to discuss things before, during and after the game? Our forum’s dedicated match thread is the place to be. Share your views with fellow fans –

Pre-season games match thread

Have you been paying attention? Here’s our traditional preview quiz

• Who is the current Leek Town manager?
• What was the score when Vale last played Leek?
• Which former Port Vale midfielder plays for Leek?

(answers below – no cheating)

Quiz answers

1. Josh Brehaut
2. Leek Town 1-2 Port Vale
3. Ross Davidson