By Albatross
August 10 2004

It's the first away match of 2004/5 for Hartlepool United, and a rain-lashed Prenton Park is the destination. Can Pools continue their good start in Division 2 against Tranmere Rovers - one of the pundits tips to do well this season? While Pools were coming from behind to beat Bradford, Tranmere were struggling away at Peterborough, eventually going down 1-0. The performance was one that didn't provide much cheer for the visiting supporters - they certainly didn't live up to the pre-season billing as one of the favourites for promotion and needed to rely on the mostly good form of goalkeeper John Achterberg to avoid losing by more.

Meanwhile, their attack looked toothless as Brian Little opted to start with former Newcastle forward Calvin Zola and ex-Forest player Gary Jones - Jones in particular coming in for heavy criticism from the fans. Changes up front are what the Rovers fans expect to see tonight - Eugene Dadi may well be the first option that Little looks at. Ian Hume is apparently struggling after picking up an injury in Saturday's game at London Road.

One area that did look good for Tranmere though was defence, with Ian Goodison impressing on his debut; as a result Ian Sharps, who was unavailable, may have to settle for a place on the bench. Whatever the lineup, Tranmere know that they will need to improve considerably from Saturday - a result that was doubly disappointing after last season's superb finish and a summer of major transfer activity.

As far as Pools are concerned, there are no new injury concerns. The only real questions in terms of changes to the side would seem to be whether Joel Porter did enough on Saturday to keep his place up front - I believe Cooper will continue with him - and whether Kevin Betsy is considered fit enough to start on the right hand side. Eifion Williams struggled to get into the game at times on Saturday, and is better playing in the centre; however with Betsy's lack of pre-season match practice he may well not be up to a full 90 minutes yet. It will be no surprise if the ever-wiling Eifion has to fill in yet again, although we may see Betsy for longer tonight - possibly with Williams moving into the centre if Porter or Boyd makes way.

There's been heavy rain on Merseyside (it woke me up this morning!) but the game is apparently not in doubt - however if my experiences driving to work this morning are anything to go by the motorways will be fun. It's not quite bring your flippers time, but if it continues much longer it might be!

Both games finished 0-0 last season, with the game at Prenton Park far from a classic as both teams effectively neutralised each other - the nearest either side came to a goal was a long-range effort from Matty Robson that hit the bar. With Tranny and Pools both looking strong at the back, it's entirely possible that we'll see a repeat of that scoreline - but I have a feeling that Adam Boyd will be able to unlock the Tranmere rearguard and earn Pools a 1-0 victory. There will be a report on the game on this site late tonight or tomorrow morning - assuming I've not had to swim home.....