Preview: Port Vale v Wednesday

30 September 2022

Port Vale v Wednesday
Saturday 1 October
3:00pm
League One
Vale Park

THE MATCH

The Owls will be out to build on another solid league performance following last weekend’s 3-1 win over Wycombe at Hillsborough.

Darren Moore’s side had too much for the Chairboys in S6 and now head to Port Vale looking to continue their strong run in the division.

Wednesday occupy fourth spot, two points off league leaders Plymouth, ahead of the clash in Staffordshire.

Our hosts this weekend are 15th in the table and will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 reverse at Peterborough last time out.

The Valiants have posted a mixed bag of results on home soil, with two wins, two draws and one defeat.

TEAM NEWS

Wednesday: George Byers will miss our trip to Vale Park.

The gaffer said during his pre-match press conference that the midfielder needs a little more time to recover and will be assessed prior to our Plymouth trip in midweek.

Captain Barry Bannan picked up a minor knock against Wycombe but has trained fine throughout the week.

Mark McGuinness has made significant strides in his recovery and is back involved in training sessions.

Port Vale: Jamie Proctor looks set to remain on the sidelines having not featured since mid-August. The striker was ruled out for several months with a hip injury.

Harry Charsley and Rory Holden could both play a part against the Owls after lengthy spells in the treatment room.

MANAGER'S PRE-MATCH MEDIA AS STREAMED LIVE

OFFICIALS

Referee: Chris Pollard
Assistant referee 1: Lisa Rashid
Assistant referee 2: Johnathon Bickerdike
Fourth official: Martin Coy

iFOLLOW

Live match commentary will be provided by iFollow, while the game will also be streamed live overseas.

Audio match passes in the UK are available HERE.

SET OFF EARLY

Supporters are advised to leave Sheffield for Vale Park in plenty of time given the expected roadworks on Newcastle Street close to the stadium.

COACH PARKING

Pre-booking for coaches travelling to Vale Park is available HERE.

SUPPORTER CONDUCT

Following recent anti-social behaviour, we are reinforcing the importance of all supporters staying within EFL Ground Regulations, which can be found HERE.

Under the banner of ‘Love Football. Protect The Game’ the FA, Premier League and EFL have together introduced new measures and stronger sanctions across the game to tackle the increased anti-social and criminal behaviours recently seen within football grounds. Find out more HERE

SOCIAL MEDIA

The hashtag for the game is #PVASHW

Our official Twitter account @swfc will provide a blow-by-blow text update of the game, team news at 2:00pm and all the key news from Vale Park.

Our official Instagram @swfcofficial will also keep you up to date on the latest events, with content uploaded to the story throughout the matchday.

Why not also follow us on Facebook and Tik Tok!

LAST FIVE MEETINGS

Match Reports

Report: Port Vale 0-1 Wednesday

1 October 2022

Will Vaulks’ first goal in Wednesday colours was enough to overcome Port Vale as the Owls continued their climb up the League One table.

Vaulks came to S6 with a reputation of being good for a long ranger, which was duly evidenced at Vale Park as the Wales international executed a second half stunner to give his side the win on an otherwise uneventful afternoon in Staffordshire.

The hosts tried to rally after falling behind but the Owls were in no mood to come away with anything but maximum points once the deadlock was broken and this they did.

In front of their biggest crowd of the season, Vale came out of the traps with purpose and David Stockdale was called into action almost from kick-off, stretching to tip a Gavin Massey cross-cum-shot over the bar.

The contest soon fell into something of a lull on an awkward, uneven surface, before Wednesday twice went close inside a minute.

First, on the half-hour mark, Barry Bannan burst into the box and brought a fine diving save from Jack Stevens high to his right.

Then Bannan found the head of Ben Heneghan from the resulting corner and again Stevens came out on top, this time parrying clear of danger.

And if truth be told, that was as good as it got for both teams in a scrappy and relatively even first half, with the inconsistent surface preventing flowing football.

Bannan was inches away with a set piece straight after the restart as the Owls looked to stamp some authority on the game.

And they did exactly that on 62 minutes as Vaulks opened his account in some style. Little seemed on for the midfield man when he took up possession 25 yards out but Vaulks unleashed a fierce curling effort that whistled into the top corner.

Port Vale pushed for an equaliser but came up against a wall of yellow determined to hang on to the points.

Organised, resolute and marshalled superbly by the towering Heneghan, Wednesday put up barricades that Vale just could not penetrate and Darren Moore’s men closed the game down to emerge triumphant.

Wednesday: Stockdale, Palmer, Heneghan, Ihiekwe, James, Vaulks, Bannan, Johnson, Windass (Dele-Bashiru 81, Wilks (Paterson 65), Smith