It's
difficult to know which Oxford side will turn up against Port Vale:
the diabolical one we've seen in such recent games as against
Fleetwood,
or the one capable of beating
league leaders Gillingham away from home. The venue for the match
might give us some indication of what to expect – we've not won at
home since New Year's Day, picking up just two points from a possible
12, while away from home we've won five of our last seven.
Port
Vale appear to be flying, second in the league and looking highly
likely to be promoted automatically this season. But they're not
currently in a rich vein of form, winning just one of their last four
matches. Unfortunately Port Vale are another of those sides who are
better on the road and remarkably haven't been beaten away in League
Two since October, picking up 21 points from a possible 27 during
that run.
Port
Vale manager Mickey Adams is expected to make changes to his side
after they were comfortably beaten 2-0 at home to Exeter on Tuesday.
The previously free-scoring Valiants have now scored just once in
their last four games, which has led to some uncertainty
as to who should lead the line for them this weekend.
As
for ourselves, Chris Wilder is expected to make minimal changes to
the side which won so impressively last time out, but there could be
some changes in the midfield. Lewis Montrose available for selection
after having to miss out against his parent club and Andy Whing
should have recovered from the illness which ruled him out on
Tuesday. New signing Scott
Davies could also make an appearance after joining the club on
Friday.
Our
recent form against Port Vale is mixed, with dramatic 2-1 wins the
last two times Vale visited the Kassam being offset by some
disappointing defeats. A 3-0 defeat on the final day of last season
was matched by an equally depressing
3-0 defeat when we visited earlier this season, the latter of
those games being played in front of the Sky cameras.
There
are several links between the two sides, the most obvious being Sean
Rigg who joined Oxford in
the summer from Port Vale. Several members of the current Vale
side have had stints with Oxford, including Ryan Burge who spent a
brief spell on loan at the Kassam in the 2009-10 season. Darren Purse
is perhaps a more familiar name to long-standing Oxford fans after
featuring for Oxford in the Championship in the late 90s. After a
long career in football the veteran centre-back signed for Port Vale
in January. And a more obscure link is Jennison Myrie-Williams, who
has drawn many plaudits for his performances on the Vale wing this
season. His signing was announced by Oxford in January 2011, but fell
through because he had already played for two clubs earlier that
season. Finally, youth team manager Chrissy Allen made five
appearances for Port Vale in 1999.
FURTHER
READING: Let's not go
thinking it's just at Oxford where fans aren't happy. As this
article shows, even fans of promotion-chasing sides like to have
a good moan from time to time.
From the Vaults
Oxford United v Port Vale, 5th April 1997
The
last time Port Vale won in Oxford they arrived
chasing promotion to the Premier League while for us the season had
petered out to nothing, so it was perhaps unsurprising that the visitors cantered to a straightforward 2-0 win. It was, however, a
particularly miserable afternoon for Darren Purse, who saw red for a
ridiculous elbow to the face of Port Vale's Lee Mills.
Also This Weekend
The
ladies team, fresh from their incredible
victory over Newcastle last weekend, are in cup action once
again. This time it's the League Cup and local rivals Swindon are in
town. They've already beaten Swindon once this season, 3-0 in a league
match away from home, but Swindon come into the match on the back of
an impressive 6-1 win over Gloucester City last weekend and will be
no pushovers. The match kicks off at 2PM on Sunday at Abingdon
United's Northcourt Road and entry is free of charge.
Another
match you should be aware of this weekend is the U17 girls Academy
side, who face Aston Villa in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. That
match kicks off at 11AM on Saturday and, again, entry is free.
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