Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers v Oldham Athletic Match Preview
By Matthew Jones
February 4 2010
All the information you need to know ahead of Tranmere's vital League One clash against Oldham Athletic at Prenton Park this weekend, as Rovers look to haul themselves out of the relegation zone....
It's another one of the proverbial six pointers this weekend for Tranmere as they take on fellow relegation battlers Oldham Athletic, knowing that a win would not only lift them above the Lancashire based side, who are currently above them only on goal difference, but it could also take them out of the relegation zone for the first time since August 22nd.
Oldham come to Prenton Park having played very few games over the last two months due to the weather, so this game provides Tranmere with an excellent opportunity to extend their strong run of form at home and pick up three points over one of their rivals.
Previous Meetings:
It's little over three weeks since these sides last met, when Tranmere travelled to Boundary Park to take on Oldham Athletic on Wednesday 20th January in a re-arranged game, with the match having been postponed on Boxing Day due to the poor weather. It was Tramere's first away game in five weeks and their first game at all in two and a half weeks.
With Oldham similarly hardly having played due to the poor weather, both teams look rusty and the result was a dismal game played out in the usual cold Oldham conditions, with chances coming rarely and passing looking like a forgotten ability.
Unsurprisingly, this forgettable game ended in a dull 0-0 draw, with niether team able to beat the opposing 'keeper, though it is fair to say that each side came reasonably close.
Terry Gornell missed an open goal for Tranmere in the second half, as he ran on to Craig Curran's cross at the back post but could only stab his shot wide with the goal gaping, whilst at the other end Oldham came even closer, as after rounding the 'keeper, Dean Smalley was unlucky to see his goalbound shot cleared off the line by Tranmere defender Zoumana Bakayogo who had managed to get back into a hugely important position.
Otherwise, chances were limited, and each side left most likely content with a point, but regretting the fact that their opposition was there for the taking had they taken the game to them.
Vital Stats:
In 36 home games against Oldham, Tranmere have picked up 19 wins and lost just nine times
Rovers have scored 71 goals compared to the Latics' 43 in these 36 games
Five of the last eight games between these two sides have ended 1-0
Tranmere have won just one of their last six games against the Latics
Tranmere have won only two if eight February meetings between the two sides
On This Day:
1999: John Aldridge's Tranmere pick up an important point thanks to a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth at Fratton Park
1993: Tranmere win 1-0 away to Cambridge United in Division 1
1990: Over 4,000 watch John King's Tranmere hammer local rivals Chester City 3-0 in the Football League Trophy at Prenton Park
Tranmere Rovers have played fifteen previous fixtures on February 6th, picking up seven wins, four draws and four defeats. In these fifteen games, they have scored 22 goals and conceded 16. They are unbeaten on this day since 1981.
The Form Book:
Tranmere Last Six Home Games: WLDWWD
Oldham Last Six Away Games: LDLLLW
Since Les Parry took over as Tranmere boss, their home form has been excellent, with Rovers coming into this game unbeaten in their last five home league games and having lost just one of their last eight games in all competitions at Prenton Park.
Rovers started their six match sequence with a 0-0 draw against League Two side Aldershot Town in the F.A. Cup in what was a drab affair, before picking up an excellent and important 1-0 win over Brentford thanks to a well worked Craig Curran goal.
Two weeks later Curran was again on target, along with Gareth Edds, as Tranmere beat Bristol Rovers 2-0 at Prenton Park, but they could only manage a draw in their next outing on home soil against Carlisle United, which was another poor 0-0 draw, with Ian Thomas-Moore missing an open goal for Rovers.
Six days later, the open goal curse struck again, with this time Terry Gornell missing with the goal gaping against Wolverhampton Wanderers in an F.A. Cup Third Round tie that Tranmere undeservedly lost 1-0, but in their most recent home game, nearly a month after the Wolves fixture, Tranmere picked up their first win of 2010 over Yeovil Town (2-1), thanks to strikes from Ian Thomas-Moore and Ash Taylor.
Other notable home results for Rovers this season include wins over Southend United (2-0), Gillingham (4-2) and Brighton and Hove Albion (2-1).
Ahead of his vital fixture, Tranmere have played thirteen home league fixtures, picking up 20 of an available 39 points, thanks to six wins, two draws and five defeats.
Tranmere have picked up just six points on the road this season, thanks to a win at Wycombe (1-0), and draws with Charlton (1-1), Oldham (0-0) and Huddersfield Town (3-3). They did however pick up two away wins in the F.A. Cup this season against Leyton Orient (1-0) and Aldershot Town (2-1).
Les Parry's side come into this match in 22nd place in the League One table, having played 27 games and picked up 26 of an available 81 points, thanks to six wins, four draws and fourteen defeats. They are now just two points off safety and level on points with Oldham above them.
This is a crucial game in League One and Oldham will be desperate to better their recent poor away form, knowing that a defeat in this match would leave them lying below Tranmere in the table, though they do have games in hand on everybody in division, bar Walsall, who are thirteenth.
Their away form however is almost as abysmal as Tranmere's and they come into this fixture without a win in their last five on the road and indeed without a win in 2010, though a number of their games have been postponed.
The Latics started their six match sequence with a win though, picking up a vital three points against fellow relegation candidates Brighton and Hove Albion, with Abbott and Hazell scoring in a 2-0 win, but in their next away game Oldham lost 1-0 to another relegation threatened club, Gillingham.
Oldham were then again goalless in their next two away games, as they were first hammered by Walsall (3-0) before losing 2-0 to high flying Norwich, a result that left them lying just one point above the relegation zone.
They did however manage a point in their next away game, drawing 2-2 with another struggling club, Wycombe Wanderers, who lie three points below Oldham and Tranmere in the table, before in their most recent away game, a late Pawell Abbott strike wasn't enough for Oldham as they lost 2-1 at Hartlepool.
Other notable results for the Latics on the road this season include wins over Southend United (1-0) and Leyton Orient (2-1). Pawell Abbott has scored in every away win for Oldham this season.
Oldham have played twelve away games so far this season and picked up twelve of an available 36 points, thanks to three wins, three draws and six defeats.
Good results at Boundary Park for Oldham this season include wins over Carlisle United (2-1), Milton Keynes Dons (2-0) and Exeter City (2-0).
The Latics come into this game in 21st place in the League One table, having picked up 26 of an available 75 points from their 25 games, though their goal difference does act as an extra point on the teams below them, as it is so much better. From their 25 games so far this season, they have picked up six wins, eight draws and eleven defeats.
Double Hit:
In recent years, there have been several players who have played for both clubs, including current Oldham centre back Reuben Hazell, ex-Tranmere manager Ronnie Moore and former Rovers players Wayne Gill and Clint Hill, whilst Jason Price recently signed for Oldham on loan and could make his debut for the club against Rovers on Saturday.
Another player to have represented both clubs in recent years is Liverpool born midfielder Nicky Henry, who will forever be remembered by Tranmere fans for "THAT" goal against Bolton in the League Cup semi-final, and "THAT" goal against West Ham in the F.A. Cup.
Henry started his playing career at Oldham, where he played for ten years and became a hugely successful player in the Oldham side that reached an F.A. Cup semi-final and the League Cup final under Joe Royal, who had a spell as Oldham caretaker manager last season.
Henry was a solid player for the Latics and he scored some important goals for the club, though in his first few seasons at Boundary Park he failed to cement his place in the team having progressed through the Oldham youth ranks before signing a professional contract with the club.
However, the goalscoring midfielder eventually made that midfield place his own and over his ten seasons with the club he made an impressive tally of 333 appearances, scoring 22 goals before earning a £500,000 move to Sheffield United in February 1997.
Brammall Lane was never the best of homes for Henry though, and having made just 21 appearances for the Blades, and spent time on loan at Walsall, he moved to Tranmere on a free-transfer in July 1999, signing a three-year contract with the club.
Henry's career lifted off again whilst with Tranmere, as under the management of John Aldridge, Rovers reached the League Cup final and two F.A. Cup quarter finals, with Henry starring in several of those games and scoring a stunning 20-yard volley to open the scoring for Rovers in their 3-0 League Cup Semi-final win over Bolton at Prenton Park.
Sadly though, in 2000/01 Tranmere were relegated to Division Two, and when his contract expired in 2002, then Rovers manager Dave Watson decided not to offer Henry a new contract, and so he was released having played 116 games for the club and scored five goals.
He joined non-League Scarborough, first as a player and later as a manager, but in 2005 he was sacked by the club after a poor run of results and is now the head chef at a Scarborough pub.
Henry's nephew, Paul, also played for Tranmere and was also a midfielder. However, Paul only managed four appearances for Rovers before being released last year and is no longer involved in football.
One To Watch: Pawel Abbott
A striker with an eye for goal, former Darlington front man Pawell Abbott has scored three in his last six appearances for the Latics and looks in good form having joined the club in July.
After starting his career in his native Poland, Abbott's first move into English football was with Preston in February 2004, joining the club for £125,000 aged eighteen.
However, the striker failed to ever cement his place in the first team at Deepdale, and following loan spells at Bury (x2) and Huddersfield, and having scored just five goals in thirty appearances for Preston, Abbott was sold to Huddersfield in March 2003.
Subsequent spells with the Terriors, Swansea and Darlington followed, before the tall striker was sold for an undisclosed fee by Darlington on the summer due to their well documented financial troubles.
Abbott was at his most successful in League One with Huddersfield, where he scored 51 goals over his loan spell and permanent spell at the club, and it was to League One that he returned in the summer when he signed for Oldham.
Since joining the Latics, Abbott has netted seven times in twenty games, and is beginning to refind the confidence and form he captured in this division before leaving Huddersfield three years ago.
At 6'01, Abbott is strong in the air but also a natural finisher inside the box. He will have to be marked closely by the Rovers defence and possesses plenty of pace. The 27-year old wears the number nine shirt for the Latics.
League One Fixtures:
There are just eleven League One fixtures this Saturday, as Monday night sees Colchester United host Southend United on Sky Sports in what will no doubt be a fiercely competative local derby between two sides at opposite ends of the table.
Brentford vs. Gillingham
Exeter vs. Southampton
Hartlepool vs. Leeds
Huddersfield vs. Carlisle
Leyton Orient vs. Brighton
Millwall vs. Norwich
Stockport vs. MK Dons
Swindon vs. Charlton
Tranmere vs. Oldham
Walsall vs. Bristol Rovers
Wycombe vs. Yeovil
Team News:
Les Parry will have to make one change to the side that drew 1-1 at Charlton last weekend as Zoumana Bakayogo's late red-card means he is suspended for the game. Parry has already stated that this will give youngster Aaron Cresswell to win back his spot in the side, and this will probably be the only change to the team, meaning Chris Shuker will once again retain his place in midfield ahead of Gareth Edds.
However, Parry does have a couple of extra options ahead of this game. New loan signing Marvin Sordell could feature ahead of Gornell or Curran up front, whilst Bas Savage may get a place on the bench after playing 90 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday. Kithson Bain will probably miss out however after coming off injured in that reserve match.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 2-0 Oldham Athletic
Of late, Tranmere's home form has been very strong, with Rovers losing just two home league games whilst Les Parry, Shaun Garnett and Wayne Allison have been in charge of the side, and with Oldham's away for being only slightly better than Tranmere's, there is a good chance that Tranmere will pull through this match and get a vital three points.
Tranmere certainly have the ability and the quality to pick up another three points in this match too, as they displayed at Charlton last Saturday when they picked up an excellent point thanks to a 1-1 draw.
What they did in that match was take the game to Charlton, attacking the London side from the off and not looking scared about losing the match. Paul McLaren's passing in midfield, mainly in the second half, was superb, whilst Chris Shuker on the wing was a constant threat before he was substituted.
If Rovers play like that again on Saturday against Oldham, then they should win. Oldham will probably come to Prenton Park looking for a point and with Tranmere's strong home form of late, that would not be the right thing to do, as Tranmere have been creating themselves chances and now it's just a case of taking them.
The only worry for Rovers is the strong Oldham striker Pawel Abbott, who will be a threat to the Tranmere backline and is a proven goalscorer at League One level, so he will need to be carefully watched by Ian Goodison and Ashton Taylor.
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04/02/2010 10:29
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:02:05:18:19:45 by Deadly Submarine.
