Tranmere Rovers
Brighton and HA v Tranmere Match Preview
By Matthew Jones
March 25 2010
Matthew Jones brings you all the stats, facts and team news you need to know ahead of Saturday's trip to Brighton in Coca-Cola League One, for what is an important game for both sides in the relegation battle...........
Saturday 27th March 2010 - Coca-Cola League One Brighton and HA v Tranmere Kick Off 3.00pm at Withdean Stadium 
Tranmere are currently on their best run away from home this season, having gone unbeaten in their last four matches on their travels, and they will be hoping to extend that run this weekend when they take on Brighton and Hove Albion at the Withdean Stadium in a huge game in the battle to beat relegation this season.
It will be Tranmere's last ever trip to the Withdean, before Brighton move from their tempory ground to a new home next year, and whilst Rovers will be happy to see the back of a ground that seats you 50m from the nearest goal and lacks any kind of character or atmosphere, it has been a ground that has been kind to them in recent years, with Ronnie Moore in particular picking up some good results on the South Coast.
Les Parry's side therefore will be clinging on to any good omens they can find ahead of this game, as they go in search of crucial points as they aim to stay out of the relegation zone by 5pm on Saturday evening.
Previous Meetings:
Les Parry's first win as Tranmere manager came over Brighton in mid-October, when Rovers picked up a impressive 2-1 win on an emotional night at Prenton Park, with Parry later saying he felt like crying because he was so proud of his team.
It was just Parry's second match in charge of the team and Rovers were in dire trouble in the League One relegation zone, where they have spent most of the season, but three three points for Tranmere was a massive lift and a boost to all at the club, as belief that Rovers could stay up began to be instilled.
Rovers broke the deadlock on 35 minutes, having had numerous chances to open the scoring through Thomas-Moore, McLaren, Curran and Broomes, before Gareth Edds scored from close range after a goalmouth scramble that saw Thomas-Moore and Gornell both have chances for Rovers, before Edds made it third time lucky.
John Welsh doubled Tranmere's lead just after the hour mark. With Brighton not having recieved any reward for their pressure on the Tranmere goal, the former Liverpool and Hull midfielder scored a trademark goal as he lashed the ball home from outside the area after turning his man.
Brighton pulled one goal back through Glen Murray, who scored from the penalty spot after being brought down by Tranmere's on-loan 'keeper Martin, but the visiters chance of getting an equaliser were all but extinguished with ten minutes left as Murray was shown his second yellow card, and subsquently a red card, for a hand ball.
Vital Stats:
Tranmere are unbeaten in their last seven matches against Brighton
Rovers have conceded just three goals in their last seven games against the Seaguls, keeping an impressive four clean sheets
In seventeen away games against Brighton, Rovers have picked up just three wins, losing on eight occasions
Tranmere have completed the double over Brighton in just two previous seasons, 2006/07 and 1973/74
In a total of 35 meetings between these two sides, the home side has kept a clean sheet on fifteen occasions
On This Day:
2004: Two goals each for Iain Hume and Eugene Dadi secure Brian Little's Tranmere a 4-0 win over Notts County in League One
1992: John King's Tranmere lose 2-1 at home to Leicester City in Division Two, a scoreline between the two sides that was to become all too familiar for Rovers fans
1989: Rovers hammer Leyton Orient 3-0 at Prenton Park, keeping John King's side fourth in the Division Four table
Tranmere Rovers have played fifteen previous fixtures on this day, picking up four wins, six draws and five defeats. In their fifteen games on March 27th, Tranmere have scored twenty goals and conceded seventeen.
The Form Book:
Brighton and Hove Albion Last Six Home Games: WLWLDL
Tranmere Last Six Away Games: DDWDLD
They started their six match sequence with a defeat, losing 1-0 to promotion chasing Millwall, before drawing 0-0 with another team battling for promotion this season, Huddersfield, who actually beat Brighton 7-1 at the Galpharm Stadium in August.
Brighton then lost 2-1 to table-topping Norwich City, with the Canaries looking certainties to go up this season, before goals from Elphick and Dicker secured the Seagulls a 2-0 win over struggling Exeter City.
That win over Exeter though was followed by a defeat at Gus Poyet's side lost 1-0 against high-flying Swindon Town, before picking up their fourth home league win of the season in their most recent home game, as goals from Murray, Forster and Virgo secured Brighton a 3-0 home win over Brentford.
Other notable home results for Brighton this season include wins over Gillingham (2-0) and Wycombe (1-0) in the league, as well as cup wins over Wycombe (2-0) and Rushden and Diamonds (3-2).
Brighton have played eighteen home games so far this season, picking up fifteen of an available 54 points, thanks to four wins, three draws and eleven defeats.
The Seagulls have been much stronger on the road than at home so far this season, and this is reflected in some of their results, which include wins over Charlton Athletic (2-1), Southampton (3-1), Carlisle United (2-0) and Wycombe Wanderers (5-2).
Brighton and Hove Albion come into this game in fifteenth place in the League One table, having picked up 44 of an available 111 points from 37 games, thanks to eleven wins, eleven draws and fifteen defeats.
Tranmere come into this game having lost just once in their last six away games, and having conceded just three times in those six games, a run they will no doubt look to extend in this crucial trip to Brighton on Saturday.
Rovers started their six match sequence with a draw, as a dire game at Oldham ended in a 0-0 stalemate, before three days later Tranmere travelled to MK Dons and lost, disappointingly, 1-0, thanks to an early strike from Jason Puncheon.
Since the MK Dons defeat though, Tranmere are unbeaten on the road, starting with an excellent 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic, before Rovers picked up just their second away league win of the season a few days later, when Ian Thomas-Moore scored as Tranmere beat Gillingham 1-0 at Priestfield Stadium.
Rovers then drew 1-1 with Southend United at Roots Hall, Ian Goodison scored a second half equaliser for Les Parry's side, before two weeks ago Tranmere travelled to Bristol Rovers and picked up a decent point at the Memorial Ground thanks to a 0-0 draw.
Rovers come into this game having picked up just 11 of an available 51 points on the road this season, having won two, drawn five and lost ten of their seventeen games on the road.
Notable results at Prenton Park for Tranmere this season include wins over Gillingham (4-2), Bristol Rovers (2-0), Southampton (2-1) and Southend United (2-0).
Les Parry's side come into this match in 20th place in the League One table, lying one point and one place above the relegation zone, having played 36 games and picked up 38 of an available 108 points, thanks to ten wins, eight draws and eighteen defeats.
Double Hit:
Seb Carole spent four dismal months on the Wirral before being released when his contract expired on December 31st, joining Brighton eleven days later after an initial trial with the club.
Carole started his career in France, where he played for Monaco, before spending time on loan in England with West Ham United. A further loan spell in France, this time with Chateauroux followed, before he signed permanently for an English club for the first time in August 2005, joining Brighton for an undisclosed fee having made nine appearances for Monaco, scoring once.
The winger spent one season at the Withdean, making 42 appearances and scoring two goals before leaving on a free-transfer for Leeds United after his impressive form had attracted the attention of the former Champions of England.
Carole stayed at Leeds for over two seasons, making 52 appearances for the Elland Road side and scoring three goals, before signing for Darlington for an undisclosed fee in November 2008.
This though was when his career began to stall, after such a promising and impressive start in the English game. He made just seven appearances for the Quakers, before moving out on-loan, re-joining Brighton, where he made a further twelve appearances, before being released by Darlington last summer.
After a few months in the football wilderness, Carole was picked up and signed by then Tranmere manager John Barnes on a free-transfer. However, Carole made just five appearances for the club, all of these under Barnes, who was sacked just a month after Carole had signed for the club.
For the next two and a half months, Carole was relegated to the reserves as he was deemed not good enough by Les Parry, before being released at the end of his contract on December 31st.
After his release, Carole joined Brighton, and has since made five appearances for the club and he will no doubt be keen to put in a good display on Saturday to show Parry how wrong he was not to play the former French youth international.
One To Watch: Glen Murray
A striker with undoubted talent, Glen Murray has been in strong form for Brighton so far this season, netting 13 goals, but his discaplinary record does leave a lot to be desired, with the striker having picked up nine yellow cards and been sent off once, against Tranmere, already this season.
The striker started his career at Carlisle United, but he failed to ever make an impression at Brunton Park, scoring just six goals in 58 appearances for the club, and was shipped out on loan to Stockport and Rochdale.
After scoring three times in eleven games for Stockport, it was at Rochdale where his performances really caught the eye, as he scored four times in fourteen appearances for the club, enough to convince Rochdale to sign the player permanently for an undisclosed fee in January 2007, ending a three year stint as a professional with Carlisle.
Murray would only be at Spotland for a season though, as his performances went from strength to strength, scoring a further 22 goals in 46 appearances for the club, form so good that Brighton signed him for £300,000 just a year after he'd signed for Rochdale.
Since signing for Brighton, Murray has been a key player for the club, having already made 81 appearances in just over two full seasons with the club. His goal return is hugely impressive too, netting 33 goals so far for the club, thirteen which have come this season, including four in a 5-2 win over Wycombe over the Christmas period.
Murray is not particularly quick, but he know's where the back of the net is and is capable of scoring from both inside and outside the penalty area, whilst he is very strong in the air. Now 26, the striker wears the number 17 shirt for Brighton and comes into this game having scored three in his last nine appearances.
League One Fixtures:
There are only ten fixtures in League One on Saturday, though with the Easter period nearly upon us, there are plenty of fixtures for all teams starting from Tuesday onwards. Saturday's fixtures though see a number of interesting and key games in both the promotion and relegation battles.
Brentford vs. Leyton Orient
Brighton vs. Tranmere
Briston Rovers vs. Southend
Colchester vs. Wycombe
Exeter vs. Walsall
Gillingham vs. MK Dons
Hartlepool vs. Swindon
Huddersfield vs. Charlton
Millwall vs. Stockport
Norwich vs. Leeds
Team News:
Tranmere boss Les Parry will once again be forced into making several changes to his side ahead of this game, with Rovers hit by injury and suspension to Shay Logan, who will miss the rest of the season with a hernia problem, and left-backs Zoumana Bayakogo and Aaron Cresswell. Loan is likely to be replaced at the back by Gareth Edds, whilst Parry is expected to sign a new left-back today to fill in for Saturday's match.
Jones' Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Tranmere Rovers
Brighton have been in strong form of late, with Gus Poyet finally beginning to get the best out of his players, but then so have Tranmere on the road, when they have been resiliant and hard to break down, conceeding just three times in their last six away games. Rovers though have had trouble scoring goals, both at home and away, so should Brighton manage to breach the Tranmere back line, it could mean a long trip home for Rovers, but there is still hope, with new loan signing Joss Labadie appearing to have an eye for goal, whilst Kithson Bain returned to the reserve side and scored twice in midweek.
Les Parry will have his side fired up for this game and will no doubt set them out not to lose, but even with that being the case, Tranmere's defence on the road recently has been very strong, and if Tranmere can keep a clean sheet, then they only need to take one chance to claim the three points.
What is key for Rovers is the hard work done by their strikers, and they will be hopeful that Ian Thomas-Moore can return for this game, as not just his goal return, but the amount of running he does up front is vital to Tranmere's success.
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25/03/2010 12:35
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:03:25:19:02:15 by Deadly Submarine.
25/03/2010 14:27
Daniels
Edds Goodison McCready Broomes (unless a player with talent comes in)
Labadie Taylor Welsh
Robinson Savage Bain
Labadie will probably on the bench however, though I hope McClaren doesnt start if this is the case. He was terrible on Friday! and Bain probably will not get it the squad. I really hope Les awards form from the reserves and give his his chance.
I'd go with:
Daniels
Edds Goodison McCready Gordon
Welsh Taylor Labadie
ITM Savage Robbo
Daniels
Edds Goodison McCready Gordon
Welsh Labadie Taylor
Thomas-Moore Gornell Robinson
At such a crucial period I'd personally look at other options.
Anyone seein Carole's comments?
"When they put the physio in charge, I just felt it wasn’t that good for me “He didn’t play me at all. I want revenge and to show him. If I could score and just kill them I’d be happy.”
With Robinson on the wing too there will be more chances as he'll create them, so perhaps more oportunities for Terry to score
Daniels
Edds Goodison Taylor Gordon
Welsh Labadie Mahon
Moore Sordell Robinson
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:03:25:18:27:44 by Deadly Submarine.
We haven't conceeded a goal either when McCready has been on the pitch.
You were also using the no goals conceded thing about Taylor the other day too
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:03:25:18:50:40 by Deadly Submarine.
Taylor is a far better CM than CB though. Can't leave McCready out IMO.
