Oxford
travel to Port Vale for an unusual Monday night match against the
league's second-placed side, just over a week after facing leaders
Gillingham in our last
league match. An impressive victory away at Cheltenham in the JPT
has renewed a sense of optimism about this side, but Vale have only
lost twice so far this season and will present a stern test.
Arguably
Port Vale are a surprise addition to this season's title race, having
spent most of summer under a transfer embargo beset by financial
concerns. But contrary to expectations, the Port Vale players
have thrived on the financial uncertainty and have been on
fire this season, scoring more goals than any other side in the
league. Top scorer Tom Pope has already netted 12
times this season (by way of contrast, our top scorer is Alfie
Potter with four). That said, they haven't won at home since
September 8th,
so they certainly won't be unbeatable.
In
addition Vale are missing captain Doug Loft due to a calf injury,
though of course this pales in comparison to our own lengthy injury
list. There is, however, good news on that front with Damian Batt and
Lee Cox apparently close to returning and some other big players such
as Michael Duberry able to train again. Johnny Mullins will be hoping
to capitalise on his impressive debut performance as he returns to the squad after last Tuesday's JPT outing.
There
are a few significant connections between the two sides, Sean Rigg of course the chief among
them. Rigg made over 100 Port Vale appearances during three seasons
at the club but left amidst their summer turmoil and became our firstsigning of the season. Another is Ryan Burge, who made five
appearances for Oxford towards the end of the 2010-11 season on loan
from Doncaster. He then joined Port Vale but has failed to really
feature for the Valiants since joining in 2011.
The
two sides have played out some real thrillers in recent years, the
last of which was last season's final-day crushing at Vale Park which
signalled the culmination of our spectacular implosion. The previous
three games had all been won by United and all by a scoreline of two
goals to one. The home game at the Kassam saw Peter Leven score the
goal
of the season and the season before that Tom Craddock scored a
last-minute winner just seconds after Vale had equalised in dramatic
fashion.
From the Vaults
Port Vale v Oxford United, 4th April 1998
The
appointment of Malcolm Shotton as manager had brought about a
resurgence in form with four victories from our previous five games
and we travelled to struggling Port Vale full of confidence. That
confidence proved misplaced...
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