Morecambe v Port Vale – back to the serious business of the League for the Valiants

Four things to watch out for

1. A chance to bounce back from Gillingham defeat

Vale will no doubt be desperate to record a positive result after the disappointment in Kent last weekend. A penalty shootout win over Wrexham in midweek helped but three points on the board remains the priority. That’s definitely the “what” for this weekend and in the next segment we’ll look at the “how”…

2. Better delivery needed?

Arguably the key element missing on Saturday was the quality of delivery to the front men. Rico Richards played one lovely ball before being replaced while Conor Grant’s dead ball delivery caused issues. But it was too little and too sporadic with too much of the play coming to nought in a crowded midfield. Despite the lack of service, Vale still had two glorious chances to score but didn’t take them. The obvious solution to that is to create even more chances. This may involve bringing the influential Ethan Chislett into the starting line-up.

3. Who replaces the captain?

With Ben Garrity injured, Vale used Tom Sang alongside Ryan Croasdale on Saturday but was his performance consistent enough to keep his place? On Tuesday it was the turn of an alternative pairing with Jason Lowe linking up with Rakeem Harper. If fit, Croasdale is a certain starter so Moore must select one from three to partner him. Harper is possibly the most daring selection but has only played an hour so far. Will Moore go for it or play safety first?

4. Protests before the game

Good luck to the Morecambe fans who are protesting against their owners on Saturday. As Vale fans, we’ve had our fair share against our own previous unsuitable owners. Ironically, one of those Vale protests took place before a home game with Morecambe (more on that below). We hope Vale fans support their fellow football supporters and help the Morecambe fans get what they deserve. Here’s some more details on why the fans are protesting

The Vale view

Form

Despite the recent blip it’s still not really too bad with just the one defeat from the last eleven League games. However, Vale could really do with a positive result at the weekend to stop any further jitters.

Fitness

Manager Darren Moore confirmed that captain Ben Garrity will be out for some weeks with injury. It leave Vale a little short in central midfield especially with George Byers also on the sidelines. On the plus side, Sam Hart returned to action in midweek while Byers, Mitch Clark and Kyle John are edging close to fitness.

Team selection

All change? Moore is likely to return to his “first choice” eleven for this game. Some elements of the team are pretty certain right now – Ripley in goal, Heneghan and Hall at the back, Croasdale in the middle, Cover on the right, Stockley (if fit) upfront. The positions up for grabs appear to be the third defender in the back three, the left wingback spot, Croasdale’s partner and which duo support Stockley.

Possible line-up

Formation: 3-4-3

Starting eleven: Ripley – Smith/Debrah, Heneghan, Hall – Cover, Harper/Sang, Croasdale, Grant – Chislett, Stockley, Curtis

Trivia: Connor Ripley needs three more games to get to 300 career appearances.

Viewing guide

Due to the International break, there is no blackout this weekend so this game is being shown on Sky+ and viewers in the UK who cannot attend will be able to watch the game. Port Vale fans based abroad can watch the game through the PVTV service.

Guide to the opposition

Club factfile

• Team: Morecambe
• League: League Two
• Manager: Derek Adams

Trivia: Morecambe are yet to win at home in the League this season.

Man in charge

49 year-old Derek Adams is now in his third spell as Morecambe manager having previously taken charge between 2019 and 2021 plus 2022 and 2023. He was appointed for this spell in June 2024 and has won five games from 19 in charge. Overall, Adams has taken charge of over seven hundred games during a seventeen year managerial career.

Form

On the up? After three straight losses, Morecambe have won two of their last three games – an FA Cup first round win over Worthing and a League Two victory over Harrogate. They lost in the Trophy in midweek. Both those wins came in away fixtures with the club yet to record a League victory at home.

Squad and injuries

The home side have been boosted by the return of winger Gwion Edwards and former Crewe defender George Ray from injury. However, they will still be missing Lee Angol.

One to watch

Experienced winger Ben Tollitt joined the club in the summer and has already netted four times in twelve League starts to be the club’s leading scorer. The 29 year-old has previously had spells with Oldham Athletic and AFC Fylde.

History

Current connections

Valiants goalkeeper Connor Ripley will be returning to his former club for the first time since leaving Morecambe. The experienced stopper made 49 appearances for the club before joining Vale on a free transfer. On the Morecambe side, there are two former Vale loanees in striker Jordan Slew and defender Rhys Williams.

Former connections

There are a number of players to appear for both sides in recent years with the list including – midfielder Jake Taylor, defender Zak Mills, on loan midfielder Jenson Weir, winger Chris Shuker, goalkeeper Chris Neal and striker AJ Leitch-Smith.

Featured connection

Michael Twiss was signed by Vale manager Brian Horton in the summer of 2000 after a successful trial. He was on bench for the Football League Trophy win over Brentford in 2001 but only managed a total of 24 games and two goals during two years with the club. His spell at Morecambe was more noticeable with Twiss netting 57 times in 231 games and helping the club to win promotion to the Football League.

Overall record

• Port Vale wins: 8
• Port Vale losses: 9
• Draws: 5

Trivia: the Valiants have won four times away at Morecambe

Last time we met

The Valiants lost 1-0 at Morecambe back in February 2023 thanks to a strike from Adam Mayor. The Vale had won the home fixture 1-0 thanks to a strike from the much maligned Gavin Massey.

Fixture history

The two sides first met in a 2007 Football League Trophy game which finished in shootout win for Morecambe. The somewhat unlikely scorer of Vale’s first-ever goal against Morecambe is defender Justin Miller with Luke Rodgers scoring Vale’s second as it finished 2-2 in normal time.

Memorable match

In 2011, Port Vale rattled in seven goals against Morecambe seemingly out of nowhere. The result came thanks to hat-tricks from both Louis Dodds and Justin Richards with Marc Richards scoring another as the goalfest ended 7-2.  It was real outlier of a match as Vale had not scored more than two goals in a match in that year prior to the result.

Archive

This website has been around for nearly 30 years so has a pretty extensive archive. Here are some images from a game in 2019 when there was a tribute to goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who had just passed away and also protests against owner Norman Smurthwaite were riding high… as for the game, Tom Pope missed a penalty as Vale lost 0-1.

Brief history

Morecambe FC was founded in 1920. They reached the Conference in 1995. Having been beaten in the 2003 and 2006 play-off semi-finals, Sammy McIlroy led the club to promotion into the Football League with victory in the 2007 play-off Final. In 2021 they reached the 2021 League Two play-off Final and achieved a first promotion to League One.

Club records

• Highest attendance: 5,375 vs Newcastle United, League Cup, 2013
• Lowest attendance: 413 vs Tottenham Hotspur U21, FLT, 2017
• Biggest win: 6-0 vs Crawley Town, 2011
• Biggest defeat: 0-7 vs Newcastle United, League Cup, 2013

Your views

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