Port Vale vs Aldershot Town

Last updated : 10 September 2010 By Mike Wray

While there may not be the same carnival atmosphere that this fixture saw last season for the Red Blue Army's second Tour of Duty, Kevin Dillon will be expecting his side to reproduce the level of commitment that was seen on the field of play that day and with Vale having widely been tipped for promotion this season, things will be just as difficult as they were back then.

Speaking to The Stray Shots ahead of the match, Anthony Charles said: "There might be a little less pressure because we are the away team on Saturday so can go there and enjoy it.

"We can take the good things from the Northampton performance and improve on the things that we didn't do so well which we have worked on, on the training pitch this week and we'll be aiming to do our best.

"We've had a few days rest this week following the [three] games last week but we've worked hard in training and of course we'll be looking to give it one-hundred percent up at Port Vale on Saturday."

Aldershot head into the fixture in 11th place with seven points from five games while Vale are seven places higher in 4th, with 10 points from their opening five matches.

Shots team news

Aldershot Town enter the match with no new faces, the loan signing that Dillon had hoped to draft in this week has not materialised and now looks likely to be made ahead of next weekend's fixture against Wycombe Wanderers but with an all-but-one, fully fit squad to chose from, selection choices will be the only headache being experienced by the Shots boss this Friday afternoon.

Speaking to The Stray Shots ahead of the match, Dillon told us: "There are a lot of teams that have struggled a little bit at home, when you look at our results, we've only had one win and a couple of draws and teams are setting themselves out now to be difficult and I'm sure that's what's happening at Port Vale as well and Micky [Adams] is probably coming up with some solutions to that as to how he can go about winning games.

"We're doing alright up to the final third at present, but we're getting shots in and that's the main thing, the goals will come if the players keep doing what they've been doing I'm certain of that as they're creating the opportunities.

"This is the final game in our first six game cycle and if we win, will just miss out on the target that we set ourselves, but if we continue in the same vein every six games we'll end up with over eighty-points which will get us in the play-off's and that would be a good season for us if we can do the same as we did last year."

Jack Randall continues to build his fitness having suffered a broken leg during the pre-season while Reece Connolly who is still suffering with a broken hand, will be available if called upon and featured for the Reserves mid-week. Aaron Morris [pictured above right] has also returned following his International duty so is also available for selection.

Shots from: Jamie Young, Ross Kitteridge, Ben Herd, Anthony Straker, Glen Little, Anthony Charles, Darren Jones, Jamie Vincent, Aaron Morris, Ben Harding, Luke Guttridge, John Halls, Danny Hylton, Marvin Morgan, Manny Panther, Jermaine McGlashan, Wade Small, Damian Spencer, Reece Connolly and Clayton Fortune.

The opposition

Although the Valiants are sitting proudly in fourth place in League Two, it has been impressive results away from Vale Park that have greatly contributed to their lofty position and they are yet to win a home fixture having first been held to a draw by Chesterfield and then suffering defeat against Torquay United leaving assistant boss Geoff Horsfield telling local paper The Sentinel this week: "There isn't a particular reason why we haven't clicked at home yet.

"We've perhaps been a bit apprehensive, but teams come here to defend and are happy to take home a point.

"We'll be looking to put that right and get our first home win on the board when we take on Aldershot. Once we get that first win at home, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Indeed a 1-0 midweek victory for the Valiants' Reserves against Sheffield Wednesday will give Vale boss Micky Adams food for thought ahead of the match with Bell-Baggie producing a decent display and providing the perfect cross which led to the game's only goal.
With the loan window having opened on Thursday however, Adams was hoping to bring in another player to boost his side's attacking options, but isn't about to rush in given that both Justin Richards and his namesake Marc [pictured above left] are on fire having netted nine goals between them so far and with Reading loanee Abdullai Bell-Baggie in his ranks, there is certainly a lot of talent for the Shots to try and keep quiet.

Vale from: Chris Martin, Stuart Tomlinson, Adam Yates, Robert Taylor, Anthony Griffith, John McCombe, Gareth Owen, Doug Loft, Louis Dodds, Marc Richards, Tommy Fraser, Justin Richards, Kris Taylor, Lee Collins, Lewis Haldane, Sean Rigg, Sam Morsy, Anthony Malbon, Matthew Bell, Ritchie Sutton, Gary Roberts, Abdullai Bell-Baggie and Sam Johnson.

  • You can visit the official Port Vale website here.

Taking charge

Mark Brown will be taking charge of the match and he will be assisted by Steve Daly and Joe Hull. Gary Hilton is the fourth official.

Weather forecast

The BBC Weather forecast for the match is given as sunny intervals, with possible early light rain but with highs of 20°C.

Ticket news

Tickets for the match are set at:
Adult seats: £19.
Senior (Over 60s) seats: £13.50.
Junior (Over 9s and Under 18s) seats: £8.
U9s seats: Free.

There is no information on Family or Disabled ticket prices, please call Port Vale FC on 01782 655 800 for details.

The match is not all-ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day.

Other news

  • Coach travel to Stockport County
    Supporters wishing to travel to the club's League Two fixture against Stockport County on Saturday 25th September 2010, are reminded that they can book their place online by clicking here or by visiting the Aldershot Town Supporters' Trust office which is located at the High Street end of the North Stand next weekend when The Shots take on Wycombe Wanderers.

    Coach seat prices to Stockport are just £18 each.

  • BBC Radio Surrey
    If you're unable to make the match, don't forget that you can listen to live match commentary via BBC Radio Surrey on 104.6FM where Gavin Denison and Aldershot Town media manager Steve Gibbs will be kicking off coverage after the 2pm news.

    Supporters are reminded that there is NO internet coverage of the match