There are some fixtures you can dress up as being just another opportunity to collect three points.
This isn’t one of them.
Port Vale are coming to the Bescot on Saturday lunchtime and, regardless of what anybody wants to call it, there is genuine needle whenever these two clubs meet.
The grounds aren’t far apart. The supporters know each other. We’ve spent enough years sharing divisions and getting under each other’s skin. And after what happened the last time Vale visited the Bescot, this particular meeting doesn’t require any artificial hype.
Walsall come into it unbeaten in League Two after Saturday’s goalless draw against Rochdale. Six games have produced two victories, four draws and ten points for Lee Grant’s side.
Vale finally got their first league win of the season at the weekend, George Byers’ second-half penalty proving enough to beat Exeter City 1–0 at Vale Park.
So they finally arrive with a little bit of momentum.
Good.
I’d rather beat them when they’re feeling confident anyway.
WALSALL: UNBEATEN, BUT WE NEED MORE
Saturday’s game against Rochdale won’t be going on anybody’s end-of-season DVD.
Another 0–0 at the Bescot continued Walsall’s unbeaten start, but it also highlighted something Grant will already be well aware of.
We need more at the other end.
There is plenty to like about what he’s built so far. Walsall are organised, difficult to beat and have generally defended well. Even when performances haven’t been perfect, we’ve continued picking up points.
Gillingham were beaten 3–0. Grimsby couldn’t find a way through. Accrington were beaten 3–2. Crewe needed a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a point. Exeter finished goalless and now Rochdale have done the same.
Ten points from six is a good start.
But three of our last five league games have finished 0–0 and two of those have come at home.
You don’t need a UEFA coaching badge to work out where the next improvement needs to come.
Aaron Pressley started the season brilliantly and already has five goals in all competitions, but the service into him has dried up during the last couple of games. We can’t expect him to spend every Saturday wrestling centre-backs with nobody close enough to benefit from it.
Reece Smith has already demonstrated that he can deliver quality. Courtney Clarke can carry the ball and commit defenders. Antony Evans gives Grant another technically strong option. Isaac Moore has already come from the bench and changed a match this season.
There are attacking players there.
Now we need to see them hurt somebody again.
And I’m fairly sure most Walsall supporters could nominate the perfect opponent.
THAT AFTERNOON
5th April 2025.
You remember it.
Of course you do.
Walsall against Port Vale at the Bescot with both clubs fighting for automatic promotion.
It took approximately 12 seconds for the madness to begin.
Jamille Matt headed Walsall in front almost immediately, only for the goal to be disallowed for a push on Connor Hall.
Vale then struck first when Lorent Tolaj found the net.
Walsall’s response was immediate. Taylor Allen converted from the penalty spot before Levi Amantchi put us 2–1 ahead after only 11 minutes.
The place was bouncing.
We’d gone behind and turned it around almost instantly.
And then Vale did exactly the same thing to us.
Ben Garrity levelled shortly before the interval and, deep into first-half stoppage time, Liam Gordon brought down Tolaj inside the area.
Penalty.
Tolaj stepped up himself.
3–2 Vale.
Five goals in one ridiculous first half and, despite Walsall pushing after the break, that was where the scoring ended.
Vale left the Bescot with all three points.
More painfully, they left above us in the table.
That afternoon didn’t single-handedly decide either club’s season, but you don’t need me to explain what happened next.
Vale kept moving forward.
Walsall didn’t.
Three weeks later, Port Vale beat AFC Wimbledon 2–0 to secure automatic promotion back to League One.
Our season ended very differently.
That’s football.
You take it on the chin.
But you don’t have to forget it.
THERE’S HISTORY ON BOTH SIDES
To be fair, we’d given them one earlier that season too.
Walsall went to Vale Park in December 2024 for a top-of-the-table meeting played in horrible conditions thanks to Storm Darragh.
It wasn’t pretty.
Nobody cared.
Taylor Allen’s corner caused the damage shortly after half-time and Matt eventually forced the ball beyond Connor Ripley.
1–0 Walsall.
That was enough.
Two games between the sides that season. One win each. Both carrying far more weight than your average League Two Saturday.
So no, we don’t need to pretend Saturday is the Champions League final.
It isn’t.
It’s three points in September.
But anyone trying to tell you Walsall against Port Vale means exactly the same as Walsall against any other League Two club probably hasn’t spent much time around either fanbase.
There is an edge.
There always is.
And after April 2025, there’s unfinished business too.
VALE’S QUICK TRIP TO LEAGUE ONE
Port Vale enjoyed promotion for precisely one season.
Darren Moore had taken them straight back up at the first attempt in 2024/25, but life in League One proved considerably tougher.
Moore was dismissed in December and former Northampton Town boss Jon Brady took charge in January.
Brady inherited a side already in serious trouble and couldn’t perform the miracle required to keep them up. Their relegation was finally confirmed in April following a 1–0 defeat at Cardiff City.
So after spending a year telling us how lovely League One was, they’re back.
Welcome home.
Brady remained in charge for the rebuild and that decision makes sense. He knows League Two extremely well and previously won automatic promotion from this division with Northampton.
Vale also still possess plenty of players who know what winning promotion at this level looks like.
Ben Garrity remains captain after agreeing a new contract during the summer. George Byers is still there. Ryan Croasdale and Connor Hall both remained at Vale Park, while Jayden Stockley continues to provide a sizeable physical presence at the top end of the pitch.
Jasper Moon was among the summer additions, arriving after leaving Burton Albion as Brady began reshaping a squad which had just suffered relegation.
So while their opening few weeks haven’t been pretty, nobody should confuse a bad start with a lack of ability.
FINALLY OFF THE MARK
Vale went into Saturday still searching for their first league victory.
They lost 2–0 at Oldham on opening day before draws against Tranmere and Crewe. A 3–1 defeat at Swindon followed and then Salford beat them 1–0.
Five games.
No wins.
Then Exeter turned up at Vale Park.
For much of the afternoon it remained tight, but the breakthrough eventually arrived from the penalty spot.
Byers stepped up and scored.
1–0.
Vale finally had their first league victory.
From our point of view, that’s probably not the worst thing.
The desperation has gone.
They aren’t coming to the Bescot having spent all week being asked when they’re finally going to win.
They’ve got that particular monkey off their back.
Now they can come here thinking Saturday is the start of their revival.
Our job is to make sure it isn’t.
THE ONES WE KNOW ALL ABOUT
There are plenty of Vale players who need very little introduction such as Liam Gordon and George Hall.
Looking at the best of the rest, Garrity is probably top of that list.
He’s exactly the sort of midfielder you notice in matches like this. He runs, competes, arrives in the box and has a knack for getting involved in important moments.
We know that from experience.
His strike dragged Vale level at the Bescot in April 2025 and he’ll be right in the middle of things again if selected on Saturday.
Then there is Byers, whose penalty finally ended Vale’s wait for a league victory against Exeter. He’s an experienced operator at this level and above, comfortable on the ball and capable of controlling periods of a game if you let him.
Don’t.
Vale are not a side Walsall can bully simply because they’ve had a poor opening month.
There is experience throughout the team.
The answer is to match it and then play our football.
EDGE, NOT STUPIDITY
This is where Walsall have to get the balance right.
I want some bite.
I’d be disappointed if there wasn’t any.
This is Vale at home in front of a big television audience after what happened the last time they visited.
There should be tackles.
There should be arguments.
There should be noise coming from both ends.
That’s part of why these games are enjoyable.
But there is a massive difference between playing with aggression and losing your head.
Vale will know exactly how much the fixture means to the home support. If they can slow the game down, draw fouls, win cheap free-kicks and get the Bescot frustrated, they’ll do it.
Don’t fall for it.
Don’t give the referee a decision to make because somebody wants to prove how much they care.
The best response to April 2025 isn’t a reckless tackle.
It’s three points.
THIS HAS TO FEEL LIKE OUR GROUND
One home win from three league games isn’t disastrous.
But it’s an area Walsall need to improve if we have ambitions of staying around the top end of the division.
Grimsby came here and took a point.
Accrington left empty-handed after a 3–2 defeat.
Rochdale came here on Saturday and took another point.
Two goalless home draws already is probably enough for now.
Saturday is exactly the sort of game where the Bescot needs to have something about it from the first whistle.
It’s a 12.30 kick-off. Fine.
It’s on television. Fine.
Neither should be an excuse for everybody spending the opening 20 minutes sitting on their hands.
Vale will bring numbers.
They’ll make noise.
Good.
That normally helps.
Some of the best atmospheres at the Bescot have come when there’s something being thrown back and forth between the two sets of supporters.
Give the players something to feed off.
And more importantly, give Vale absolutely nothing comfortable.
GET PRESSLEY BACK INTO IT
For all the rivalry talk, Walsall are still going to have to play well.
Being more emotionally invested than the opposition doesn’t put the ball in the net.
Getting Pressley involved might.
The early part of his season showed exactly what he can do when supplied properly. He scored against Bristol City, Gillingham and Accrington before getting both goals at Crewe.
Since then, Walsall have gone through two league matches without scoring.
That isn’t Pressley’s problem alone.
We need to get players closer to him and start asking defenders more questions.
Smith’s delivery has already caused problems this season. Evans should become more influential as he settles into the side. Clarke has the ability to attack defenders directly.
I’d like to see us make Vale’s back line uncomfortable from the beginning.
Not endless sideways possession.
Not throwing aimless balls at Pressley’s head and hoping for something to happen.
Get wide.
Make runs beyond.
Attack the second ball.
Turn their defenders around.
Vale have just spent most of the season so far struggling for results.
Don’t let them spend Saturday thinking defending at the Bescot is easy.
THE MIDFIELD BATTLE
This is where some of the spice will probably live.
Byers.
Garrity.
Croasdale.
Vale have players who aren’t afraid of the ugly side of League Two football.
Walsall need the same.
Sven Sprangler has already shown he can compete.
Charlie Crew has made an encouraging start.
Evans brings another type of quality entirely.
Whoever Grant selects, this isn’t an afternoon for watching the game happen around you.
Win second balls.
Get tight.
Move the ball properly once you’ve won it.
And make sure Vale don’t get to dictate the tempo.
For all the talk of rivalry, the team that controls midfield usually controls the game.
DON’T MAKE THEIR SEASON FOR THEM
This is the danger.
Vale have finally won.
They’ll arrive thinking something might be beginning.
We’ve all seen it before.
A side starts badly, gets one result and suddenly everything feels different.
There’s no reason Walsall need to play a supporting role in their comeback story.
Their start has been poor for a reason.
They’ve struggled to score.
They’ve struggled to put complete performances together.
Exeter gave them the opportunity they needed on Saturday and Byers took it.
Fine.
Let that be their nice afternoon for September.
We don’t owe them another one.
At the same time, complacency would be stupid.
This is still a recently relegated League One squad containing plenty of players who won promotion from this division only two seasons ago.
They are better than their opening results suggest.
Treat them accordingly.
Then beat them.
THE FINAL WORD
There is no need to oversell this.
Walsall against Port Vale already has enough going for it.
Local rivalry.
Two fanbases that enjoy beating each other considerably more than they’ll sometimes admit.
A live television audience.
And the first meeting since an afternoon at the Bescot which still irritates for more reasons than simply losing a football match.
Vale came here in April 2025, won 3–2, overtook us and carried that momentum towards automatic promotion.
We had to watch them celebrate.
We had to watch how the two seasons went from there.
Now they’re back in League Two.
Back at the Bescot.
And this time Walsall are the side starting the season unbeaten.
Vale will arrive after finally getting their first win against Exeter, so they’ll believe their season is beginning to turn.
Perfect.
Let them believe it right up until 12.30.
Then make it horrible for them.
Play with edge, but keep eleven men on the pitch. Use the atmosphere rather than getting swallowed by it. Get Pressley involved again. Make their defence work. And above everything else, remember that the best way of settling anything from April 2025 is on the scoreboard.
Three points are three points.
Except sometimes they’re not.
WALSALL v PORT VALE.
Saturday. 12.30pm. The Bescot.
No passengers. No excuses.
Send them back up the M6 empty-handed.
Come on you Saddlers.
