Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers vs. Huddersfield Town match preview
By Matthew Jones
December 12 2010
Total Tranmere brings you all the stats, facts and team news you need to know ahead of Tranmere's huge Johnstone Paints Trophy semi-final game against Huddersfield Town at Prenton Park on Tuesday
Tranmere Rovers and Huddersfield Town will finally meet at Prenton Park this Tuesday evening in the semi-final of the Johnstone Paints Trophy, northern section.
It's third time lucky for the two sides, with games on November 30th and December 7th having been postponed over the last few weeks due to the snowy and icy conditions on the Wirral.
The winner of the game will go into a two-legged area final against Carlisle United, with the winner of that fixture going to Wembley in the final of the competition, so this is a huge game for both sides as they look to gain some silverware and earn themselves and their fans a trip to the capital.
Huddersfield United Factfile:
Ground: The Galpharm Stadium
Formed: 1908
Nickname: The Terriers
Manager: Lee Clark
League Finish 2009/10: 6th
Kit Colours: White and blue striped top, blue shorts, white socks (home), red and black striped top, red shorts and socks (away)
Previous Meetings:
Tranmere and Huddersfield have already met this season, wit hthe two clubs playing out the second league game of the season at the Galpharm Stadium in August.
The fixture was tight, with no give or take from either side and eventually ended in a goalless draw, the second successive clean sheet Tranmere had kept away from home.
Joe Collister started in goal for Tranmere due to an injury picked up by Gunnar Nielsen on international duty, and the youngster picked up the Man of the Match award after a stunning display that saw him make excellent saves from Rhodes as well as coming off his line to claim several crosses.
At the other end, Tranmere themselves were very threatening, Showunmi coming close with a ball that rebounded off his knee from 'keeper Smithies kick, whilst Gornell and Labadie also came close for Rovers.
Tranmere were also unlucky not to win a penalty late on when substitute Kayleden Brown was hauled down inside the area when clean through on goal, whilst Huddersfield had ex-Everton man Gary Naysmith sent off after he picked up his second yellow card with four minutes left.
Vital Stats:
In 22 home games against Huddersfield Tranmere have picked up fourteen wins, losing on just four occasions
Rovers have scored 39 goals in home games against the Terriers, conceding just nineteen
Tranmere have won two out of three cup games against the Yorkshire based side, though all these games were in the F.A. Cup
Excluding penalty shoot out defeats, Tranmere have lost just one of seven cup games on Tuesday nights since Les Parry took charge of the side
Rovers are six Johnstone Paints games unbeaten at home, a run dating back three years to 2007
On This Day:
2002: Ray Mathias' Tranmere side hammer Northampton Town 4-0 at Prenton Park, Simon Haworth netting twice
1999: Andy Parkinson scores a famous goal as Tranmere beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at Prenton Park in the League Cup Quarter Finals
1996: Rovers a hammered 3-0 by Barnsley at Oakwell in Division One
Tranmere Rovers have played fourteen previous games on this day, picking up ten wins, two draws and just two defeats. In these fourteen games they have scored 34 goals and conceded on just eighteen occasions.
Rovers have played six cup games on this day in history, incredibly not losing any of them and winning on five occasions, whilst they are unbeaten at home on this day, having played eight games at Prenton Park, winning seven of them
The Form Book:
Huddersfield Town last six away games: LWDWLW
Tranmere Rovers last six home games: LLWWDL
Under the guidance of excellent young manager Lee Clark, Huddersfield Town are one of the strongest sides in League One, with their spending power pushing the up towards a promotion challange this season.
The Terriers however come into this game having not played a fixture away from home since November 13th, so perhaps their form has turned since their last outing away from the Galpharm Stadium.
Lee Clark's side started their six match sequence with a win as they defeated Colchester United 3-0, Novak, Pilkingon and Rhodes the scorers, before they lost their next away game 2-1 against lowly Plymouth Argyle.
Huddersfield then defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 in a Yorkshire derby at Hillsbrough in their next away game, before drawing in disappointing fashion against Non-League side Cambridge United (0-0) in the F.A. Cup.
Goals from Rhodes (x2), Afobe (x2) and Arfield then secured Huddersfield's passage to the semi-finals of the Johnstone Paints trophy with a 5-2 victory over Rotherham before the Terriers lost their most recent away match 1-0 against Oldham Athletic.
Other impressive results for the club away from the Galpharm Stadium this season include wins over Leyton Orient (2-1), Notts County (3-0) and Carlisle United (1-0).
In nine league games away from home this season, the club have picked up twelve of an available 27 points thanks to four wins and five defeats, whilst they have also won two, drawn one and lost one of four away cup games.
Notable results at home this season for Huddersfield include wins over Southampton (2-0), Leyton Orient (4-2), Charlton Athletic (3-1) and Macclesfield (6-0).
Lee Clark's side come into this game in third place in League One, having picked up 32 of an available 57 points from 19 games, this thanks to ten wins, two draws and two defeats.
A second successive defeat on home soil in their last match has given a different view to Tranmere's home form, with Rovers coming into this game having lost three of their last six games at Prenton Park.
The Wirral outfit started their six match sequence with a dire 3-0 defeat against Brentford before on-loan goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi was the hero next time out for Rovers as they progressed through to the semi-final of the Johnstones Paint trophy with a penalty shoot out win over Stockport County, this after the game had finished 0-0 in normal time.
Tranmere then picked up two successive wins in home games firstly beating MK Dons 4-2 thanks to two goals from Ian Thomas-Moore and Dale Jennings, before Jennings was again on target as Rovers beat Plymouth 1-0.
However, Tranmere have lost their two most recent home games, firstly against Hartlepool United, as a second half error from Peter Gulacsi was all that was needed for Hartlepool to score as they won the fixture 1-0 before a slow first half saw Rovers go 2-0 down against Leyton Orient, with a Gunnar Nielsen error gifting the O's their second. Rovers battled back second half, Scott Wootton grabbing his second goal for the club on the hour mark, but Orient held on to grab a 2-1 win.
Rovers' only other notable home results this season include a 1-0 win over Peterborough thanks to a goal from Arnaud Mendy, and a 1-1 draw with Accrington Stanley in the Johnstone Paints Trophy.
Les Parry's side have played ten home games in the league this season, picking up eleven of an available 30 points thanks to three wins, two draws and five defeats, whilst they have drawn two and lost one of three home cup games this season.
Notable results away from home for Tranmere include league wins over Walsall (4-1) and Bristol Rovers (1-0) as well as cup wins over Bury (1-0) and Walsall (1-0).
Les Parry's side currently lie in 20th place in League One, having picked up 22 of an available 57 points from 19 games, thanks to six wins, four draws and nine defeats.
Double Hit:
There have been several players who have represented both Huddersfield Town and Tranmere Rovers in the recent past, including the likes of Sir Steve Yates and Wayne Allison.
A third player who has represented both clubs though is Tranmere's midfield legend Kenny Irons, a home grown midfielder who played under both John King and John Aldridge before leaving Rovers for Huddersfield.
Irons came through the Tranmere youth system and signed his first professional contract with the club in 1989.
Despite having a number of differences with then manager John King, Irons became a hugely popular and successful player with Rovers, making 429 appearances for the club in all competitions and scoring 67 goals.
The central midfielder stayed with Tranmere for ten years, and was a huge fan favourite. He had the ability to score plenty of goals from midfield whilst his passing range was exceptional.
However, a cash crisis at Prenton Park led to Irons being sold in 1999, with the midfielder, then 28, joining Huddersfield for £500,000.
Irons stayed with The Terriers for four years, making 170 appearances for the club and scoring thirteen goals, but he was never as successful for the Yorkshire club as he was at Tranmere.
In 2003, he left the Galpharm Stadium, or as it was then known, the McAlpine Stadium, moving across the Irish Sea to join Linfield before between 2004 and 2006, he returned to Britain to play in the Welsh Premier League with NEWI Cefn Druids and Caernarfon.
In 2008, Irons came out of retirement to play for Tranmere's Masters side, and has been instrumental for the team in the last few years, helping them to win the National Title in 2009, as well as the Mersey Masters Title in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
One To Watch:
Huddersfield Town this summer pulled off the incredible signing of experienced midfielder Joey Gudjonsson, who signed from Burnley on a free transfer.
The 30 year old had enjoyed a three year stint with the Turf Moor side, playing in the Premier League last season, but was released following their relegation by manager Brian Laws.
Gudjonsson started his career in his native Iceland, before playing for Dutch side RKC Waalwijk. In 2001 he joined La Liga side Real Betis, before three years later moving on loan to Aston Villa and then Wolves after failing to make an impact in Spain.
In 2004, he moved to an English club permanently, joining Championship side Leicester City, and he became a hugely influential player for the club, making 89 appearances and scoring thirteen in two years with the club.
He moved to AZ Alkmaar on a free transfer in 2006 before returning to English football with Burnley a year later, and he would help the side win promotion to the Premier League in 2008/09.
In three years with the club, the 30-year old made 109 appearances for Burnley, though nearly half of these were as a sub, and after falling out of favour last year, he was released following the end of his contract.
Signing for Huddersfield was a huge move for the Terriers, with the influential central midfielder, who scored a thunderous and brilliant 30-yard strike in the pre-season win over Blackburn, being handed the number four shirt at the Galpharm Stadium.
Since the start of the campaign, Gudjonsson has already had a huge impression on the Town midfield too, playing 23 games for the club already, scoring once.
An experienced campaigner, Gudjonsson, who has also won 28 caps for Iceland, may only be small but he has the strength and know how to dominate a midfield and is well capable of bossing a game.
Johnstone Paints Trophy:
There are no further fixtures in the Northern Section of the Johnstones Paint Trophy tonight, with the other Northern Section semi-final game between Carlisle United and Sheffield Wednesday having taken place two weeks ago, Carlisle winning the fixture 3-1.
In the Southern Section of the draw, Charlton Athletic will play their semi-final against Brentford at Griffin Park on Tuesday night, whilst Bristol Rovers vs Exeter is also on Tuesday, though is a 7.15pm kick off.
Team News:
Les Parry has some interesting decisions to make ahead of Tuesday nights game against Huddersfield Town, with plenty of selection issues being posed upon the Rovers manager.
Many fans are calling for Tranmere to switch to a 4-4-2 formation, and that could well happen, with Blanchard or Grandison dropping out of the side that lost against Leyton Orient on Saturday, Lateef Elford-Alliyu coming in to the starting line up.
Enoch Showunmi and Ian Thomas-Moore both picked up knocks in the defeat on Saturday and as such both are doubtful for the game, whilst Marlon Broomes is likely to miss out once again with a hip injury.
Alan Mahon and Ashton Taylor are still lacking match fitness having not played a competitive match since returning to training, and as such may not be involved, whilst this game may come too soon for Tim Cathalina and Sam Morrow.
Finally, Tranmere will also be without midfielder Joss Labadie, who sits out the final game of a three match ban for a straight red card picked up for violent conduct against Notts County in November.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town are a strong side away from home, but Tranmere Rovers are well capable of winning this game if they play anything like they did in the second half against Leyton Orient on Saturday.
Rovers though must start with a 4-4-2 formation and should give a first start to loanee Lateef Elford-Alliyu, who injected some pace and bite into Rovers' performance second half.
Tranmere's finishing must be better than it was on Saturday though, with Rovers missing too many gilt edge chances in a game that they could quite easily have won.
Gunnar Nielsen must improve for Rovers, with his error on Saturday costing Tranmere a point, whilst Les Parry's side must start in better fashion, having struggled in the first 45 minutes against Leyton Orient after not playing a game for nearly three weeks.
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12/12/2010 21:05
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:12:17:17:04:46 by Deadly Submarine.
sadly i think they will win 2 1
14/12/2010 13:16
4-5-1 against Norwich, Soton, Millwall (all last season) then Peterborough, Charlton, Brighton (this season) have all been good points in my opinion and have involved us playing 4-5-1, so I wouldn't be that disapointed to see us start like that tonight, based on the above evidence its kind of justified.
It's games against teams we "should be beating" where Les is to scared to attack them like we should, hence we never beat the teams around us. (not gonna list them games as I'll be here all day.)
"It's games against teams we "should be beating" where Les is to scared to attack them like we should, hence we never beat the teams around us. (not gonna list them games as I'll be here all day.)"
You say Les is scared to attack the teams around us, which are the very teams Les said he wants to beat.
Les said tonight that we must win both next two home games and draw the away game.
Given the last three results that seems a pipe dream ?
If he can repeat last season's end result he will have done very well.
And I agree Ivvy, I don't see what your point is though..
