Our preview of the weekend's big game...
Port Vale FC
Sky Bet League 1
The Lamex Stadium, Stevenage, SG2 8RH
Saturday 29th March 2014
Kick-off: 15:00
Weather forecast: 15°c, sunny spells
Referee: Charles Breakspear
TICKET NEWS:
Advance tickets are still on sale at www.borotickets.co.uk until 4pm on Friday. Tickets are cheaper in advance and demand is high so save yourself some money and a space!
LAST TIME WE MET:
Two goals from Jordan Burrow helped Boro to a point back in December, although a last minute equaliser from Tom Pope made it feel like two points dropped rather than a point gained. After Myrie-Williams gave Port Vale the lead from a controversial penalty, Burrow scored two quick-fire goals to give Boro the lead before half-time. After Doughty was sent-off, Stevenage were made to defend for their lives but couldn’t hold on as Pope headed home in the 89th minute.
TEAM NEWS:
Michael Doughty will miss the next two games after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season against Coventry. The big news though of course, is that Dean Parrett has ruptured his ACL as reported earlier today. New signings Conor Henderson and Tom Flanagan are both eligible to play so may make their first appearances for the club. Injury-wise, the rest of the team is in good shape so GW should have a strong squad to choose from on Saturday.
Carl Dickinson is suspended for Saturday’s game after being sent off during the 5-0 loss to Bristol City on Tuesday. However, Chris Lines returns after completing a two game suspension and Liam Chilvers may return after spending the last few games out with a groin injury.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM:
GW spoke to the press on Thursday morning about what needs to be done in the final eight games of the season to ensure Stevenage are a League One club next season.
“I’m not concerned about our form; I think our performance level has been OK on the whole. I think that sometimes you don’t get the rub of the green in any game but over the last eight games we’ve won enough points to push ourselves from having a nine point deficit to having a two point deficit. So, we’re in the shake-up now - which we weren’t eight games ago - and what we’ve got to do over the next eight games is do a similar or slightly better amount of work and we’ll be safe.”
To watch the whole of GW’s pre-match interview, sign into Boro Player now.
BETTING:
Stevenage are favourites with Sky Bet at 6/5 on Saturday whilst a 1-0 win is 17/2.
Sign up to Sky Bet through any of the attached links to help the club earn extra revenue. Join now and get a free matched bet up to £30!
RECENT FORM:
Port Vale are right in the middle of the table, 8 points off the play-offs whilst 11 points off the relegation zone. League 1 safety would have been the aim at the start of the season, having been promoted last season but in their last 12 league games the team have only won three times. The club did suffer their worst loss of the season on Tuesday night when they were thrashed 5-0 by a rampant Bristol City at Ashton Gate and the club are without a win in their last nine away league games.
KEY MAN:
Stevenage fans will be familiar with Port Vale winger, Jennison-Myrie-Williams after his spell at the Lamex in 2011. He didn’t quite hit it off at Boro but since his move to Port Vale, he’s enjoyed the best football of his career. Last season he finished in the League 2 team of the year and was voted the league’s 5th best player and he’s continued his form in League 1 with 9 goals this season.
ONLINE COVERAGE:
As always, we’ll be providing minute-by-minute updates on our Twitter account, with the key incidents reported live on our Facebook page. The best matchday photos will be posted on the clubs Instagram account.
You can listen to the game live on Boro Player, where all the post-match interviews will be uploaded to after the game.
Extended highlights will also be on Boro Player on Sunday morning, whilst 2 minute highlights and a behind-the-scenes video of the day will be on YouTube.