Yeovil Town are back in SkyBet League One action this Saturday as the Glovers travel to Port Vale.
The big wigs of the Premier League and Championship may well be taking a week off for internationals, but here in the third tier, we plough through the fixture list like nothing else matters.
Port Vale currently find themselves slumped in the relegation zone in 22nd place with just nine points to their name.
However, Yeovil have dropped a few places themselves and are looking over their shoulders at those below them, 19th place in the league and only 12 points isn’t quite what the green and white faithful had in mind going into winter.
What the travelling fans will have to hold on to is that the Yeovil away form is much better than their home and at the Stoke-based side, Vale, they also fair better on the road.
Yeovil’s away games have yielded two wins from five (Walsall and Bradford) while Port Vale have notched up just the one victory on home soil all season.
Both sides last picked up a league win two matches ago; Yeovil securing that huge win over Peterborough at Huish Park while Vale beat Barnsley back on September 20th.
Since then, defeats to Crawley and MK Dons have put the Glovers in the current position. Vale too have lost one and drawn one, but more significantly they have also crashed out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy this past Tuesday.
The Valiants travelled to Preston and lost out 3-2 despite Tom Pope scoring a brace for the travelling side. In terms of team news, Port Vale will be without Jordan Slew, the striker was sent off in a defeat to Fleetwood and thus sits out the second of a three game ban.
He’ll be sat on the naughty step in the stands alongside Yeovil defender Ben Nugent. Nugent also saw red, this time for two bookable offenses against MK Dons, being a two-yellow sending off he only had to miss one match and will be back for next week’s home game against Swindon.
Elsewhere, Jack Price has played his final game for Yeovil Town and will need replacing in the match day squad and Joel Grant will have travelled to and from Japan before kick off on Saturday as part of the Jamaican national side.
Two games in 48 hours, including a flight back from the far east might be asking a bit much for the winger. More positive news will be the introduction of Jordy Hiwula, the young striker made an exciting debut at the weekend and despite missing two golden opportunities to net his first Yeovil goal he was often in the right place at the right time and will be hoping to get off the mark this weekend.
The two absentees could see Brendan Moloney and Liam Davis make their way back into the gaffer’s reckoning for selection, but it’s yet to be determined if Kieffer Moore is fit to make the squad once more.
The two sides haven’t met since 2008 when the two sides played out a 2-2 draw. Gary Dempsey and Andy Kirk scoring for the Glovers.
Prior to that, Justin Cocherane netted in a 1-0 win at Huish Park and the sides have exchanged victories in each of the 2005/06 and 2006/07 seasons.
Could it be a form point that Yeovil have beaten Vale in three of the six competitive meetings, however they have all come at Huish Park. So, both side will want to be away from the drop zone as soon as possible, three points on Saturday could do so much for both sides and you can still be there, tickets available on the day for those travelling up to Vale Park.
A reminder for those making the journey that prices increase significantly on the day.
If you’re not hopping up the M5 then rest assured that Glovers Player will have the full 90 minutes of commentary for you and the post-match reaction will be available, along with highlights, just as soon as the media team’s computer will upload them.
Looking ahead, it’s never too early to get your tickets booked for future games and it’s Swindon up next at Huish Park on Saturday October 18th.
Tickets for ALL of the upcoming fixtures are available on the YTFC.net ticket purchasing section of the website. So whether you’re just nice and organised, out to save a few quid or looking to purchase an early Christmas present use that for all your ticketing needs.
Famous Fans: Robbie Williams.
A Foot in Both Camps: Abdulai Bell Baggie, Dom Blizzard, Craig Davies, Kevin Gall, Wayne Gray, Colin Miles, George O’Callaghan, Gareth Owen, Craig Rocastle, Luke Rodgers, Darren Purse and Gavin Tomlin.
Did you know: They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire, one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent making them one of the few teams not named after a place.
