Phil Yelland does the research to find out how Port Vale have fared on previous trips to Barrow ahead of this evening's League Two encounter.
Whilst in our years as a non-league club we had at least one visit from Vale for a pre-season friendly, their last competitive game here was in October 1966. In a Division Four encounter, they took away a point from a 2-2 draw with the Barrow goals coming from Alex Alston and Jim Mulholland.
The first meeting between the sides here came in Division Three North in January 1930 when Albert Walker’s goal earned us a point in a 1-1 draw. We then enjoyed two home wins against them; the second of those games in February 1938 saw us recorded our biggest win against them - a 3-0 triumph with two goals from Matthew Robinson and one from Arthur Baker.
Since then, Vale’s five visits here have seen them go unbeaten. They got their first win on our soil in April 1952 when, despite Tom King scoring for us, they won 2-1 as they finished the season as runners up to Oldham Athletic in Division Three North. Their second victory came in October 1958, as they headed for the first ever Division Four title and won 2-1 with Jackie Keen netting the Barrow goal.
So, eight previous meetings have seen two Barrow wins, two Vale successes and four draws. Let’s hope we can get our third win, and our first over them in more than 80 years here, this evening.