Key February fixtures await Port Vale after positive January

It’s been an eye-catching start to the new calendar year for Port Vale.

Following a scoreless draw against Cheltenham at Vale Park at the beginning of 2025, Darren Moore’s men have won back-to-back league matches.

Goals on either side of half-time saw the Valiants beat Doncaster Rovers 2-1 on their last road trip, bolstering their hopes of securing an immediate League One return. 

Supporters in attendance witnessed a spectacle at the weekend as Vale came from an early deficit to squeeze past Newport County 3-2 on home turf, leapfrogging AFC Wimbledon into third. 

Those who couldn’t attend the game but used a VPN to follow Vale in action live online safely testified to Vale’s noticeable form resurgence in early 2025. 

Consecutive victories, including a five-goal thriller at Vale Park, have reignited the club’s quest to lock down a top-three finish in League Two following a rough spell in December.

Indeed, Moore’s charges are seemingly back on track following a disheartening eight-game winless league run and will aim to maintain their momentum in the upcoming away match against Chesterfield. 

After a busy January schedule, Vale will only contest four league games in February, yet they can’t underestimate the size of tasks awaiting them next month. 

Accrington Stanley (H) – 01/02/2025

Five defeats from seven league outings since the start of December have plunged Accrington into a dreaded relegation scrap, seeing them slide to 24th in the League Two table, only five points clear of the drop zone. 

However, Vale can ill afford to take the Reds’ struggles for granted, considering this hasn’t been a favourable match-up for them in recent years. 

A goal-glutted 2-2 draw in September’s reverse fixture extended Vale’s winless league run against John Doolan’s side to five, with four seeing the Valiants concede at least two goals. 

If there was a time to buck that trend, it’s now. 

Swindon Town (A) – 08/02/2025

Like Accrington, Swindon’s bottom-half lethargy is well-documented, but they’re seemingly on the verge of turning their underwhelming campaign around. 

Two wins from their last four league games have lifted the Robins eight points clear of 23rd-placed Morecambe, breathing new life into their stuttering league season. 

Moore hailed Vale’s ‘fighting spirit’ after the win against Newport, and the Valiants may need to demonstrate their fightback capacity again after conceding first twice on their last three visits to Swindon.

Vale will take this trip without Ruari Paton after the club announced his transfer to Scottish Premiership side Dundee United on loan for the rest of the season. 

Notts County (H) – 13/02/2025

Six points from the first two matches in February would perfectly set Vale up for Notts County’s visit to Vale Park for a mouth-watering promotion six-pointer.

At the time of writing, only a point separates the Valiants from the fifth-placed Magpies, not to mention a game in hand in favour of Stuart Manyard’s side. 

Lorent Tolaj’s first-half winner propelled Vale to a narrow 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture in October, helping Moore’s side put a stop to a four-game winless run against Notts. 

Scoring first could make all the difference, given that four of those five meetings saw one or both teams fail to get on the scoresheet. 

Salford City (H) – 22/02/2025

An 8-0 rout at the hands of Manchester City in FA Cup action curtailed Salford’s momentum, knocking them down from a six-game winning streak.

Karl Robinson’s top-three hopefuls failed to bounce back as mid-table Fleetwood Town thumped them 2-0 last time out, leaving them two points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.

Though there’s still time for the Ammies to recover before they visit Vale Park, their recent slump could offer the Valiants a presentable chance to post a third consecutive league win against them ‘to nil.’