Bromley v Port Vale preview – can Valiants regain League form after bumpy spell?

The Vale view

Pre-match quote

“They’ve done extremely well. Their manager is very experienced and a team that has not lost since October. We’re going down to Bromley and we’re playing an in-form team. They are really awkward to play against. They have wonderful team spirit and desire. We’re facing an in-form team and we’ll have to be at our level best.” – Darren Moore on the opposition.

Form

The midweek Football League Trophy game could potentially be useful for the Valiants as it halted a run of three games without a win. In terms of League form, Vale have one win from their last five games so it’s not great!

Fitness

Darren Moore confirmed that loanee Benicio is injured and faces some weeks on the sidelines. He joins captain Ben Garrity on the treatment table. Mitch Clark returned to action in the Football League Trophy win over Doncaster Rovers. However, there will be concerns over the fitness of some – Jayden Stockley is back from a knock, Ryan Croasdale has also been nursing an injury while the likes of Rakeem Harper, Kyle John, Sam Hart and George Byers all lack match fitness.

Team selection

After eleven changes in the Trophy game, we expect there will be wholesale changes for this match. Key questions are – which players form the back three, what is the constitution of the front three and perhaps most importantly – who lines up in central midfield. We expect the defence may well be Sang, Debrah and Hall, that Jayden Stockley will be the focal point upfront and that Ethan Chislett could partner Ryan Croasdale with George Byers and Rakeem Harper on the bench.

Possible line-up

Formation: 3-4-3

Starting eleven: Ripley – Sang, Debrah, Hall – John, Chislett, Croasdale, Hart – Richards, Stockley, Curtis

Trivia: Ryan Croasdale needs three more games for 350 career League appearances

Viewing guide

This game will not be shown on Sky Sports+ in the UK and so Vale fans in the UK will not be able to watch. Viewers outside of the UK can see the game on the PVTV service.

Guide to the opposition

Club factfile

• Team: Bromley
• League: League Two
• Manager: Andy Woodman

Trivia: Bromley won their first-ever Football League game – 2-0 at Harrogate

Man in charge

53 year-old Andy Woodman is a former player who made over 400 appearances including spells with Northampton Town, Brentford and Oxford United. Woodman started his managerial career with a brief spell at Whitehawk before taking over at Bromley in 2021. He was an immediate success at the club. He took them to the play-offs in his first season, won the FA Trophy in his second season and won promotion to the Football League in his third season. His managerial stats stand at 85 wins from 195 games.

Form

Currently sitting in fourteenth place in the table, Bromley’s recent form has been good with three straight wins in League and Cup. It saw them turn around a spell of no wins in four games. The side have won two and lost three at home.

Squad and injuries

In contrast to the Valiants, Bromley have picked a pretty consistent starting eleven in the League this season. Midfielder Grant Smith is an ever-present while experienced forwards Corey Whitely and Michael Cheek have missed just two games. Giant defender Omar Sowunmi who stands six foot six inches tall is a regular and noticeable presence at the back.

One to watch

Forward Michael Cheek has been in blistering form this season. The long-serving forward, now 33 years of age has ten League goals already.

History

Current connection

Former Vale loanee Josh Thomas is in the Bromley squad after joining on loan from Swansea City. However, Thomas may not feature as he’s only made just five appearances so far this season. Thomas joined Vale on loan last season and scored three times in fifteen games.

Former Connections

There’s not too many players to have appeared for both clubs in recent years but the list includes striker JJ Hooper, forward Ben Williamson and midfielder Nathan Ferguson.

Featured connection

Cultured midfielder Simon Osborn had spells with both clubs. The former Wolves player joined Vale in 2001 and immediately made an impact on the Valiants side. However, his spell was brief after he moved up a division to join Gillingham. He made just nine appearances in a Vale shirt. Towards the end of his playing career, he was appointed player-manager of Bromley making 54 appearances and scoring twice.

Overall record

• Port Vale wins: 0
• Port Vale losses: 0
• Draws: 0

Trivia: Bromley are unbeaten in their last three League home games.

Fixture history

This will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides.

Archive

This is the first game between the sides so we don’t have any archive material. So, we’ve decided to take a look at how Vale fared after their first League game against some more recent Football League teams:

Forest Green Rovers: after previously clashing in the FA Cup (a dramatic 3-2 Vale win) the first League meeting in 2017 was less exciting, ending in a 1-1 draw (Dan Turner scoring for Vale)

Crawley Town: another draw after the two teams first met back in 2011. Vale’s scorers that day were Marc Richards and Louis Dodds.

Salford City: a third draw as the sides went head-to-head in 2019. Vale took the lead through striker Richie Bennett only for Jake Beesley to equalise in the final moments.

Harrogate Town: and a fourth draw to boot. Meeting in 2020, the two sides played out a 0-0 draw at Vale Park for their first competitive fixture.

Brief history

Bromley were formed in 1892 and were founder members of the Southern League. They joined the National League for the first time in 2015 and won promotion to the Football League at the end of last season.

Club records

• Record attendance: 10,789 v Nigeria XI, 1948
• Biggest win: 13-1 v Redhill, 1946
• Biggest loss: 11-1 v Barking, 1934

Your views

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