Bristol Rovers v Tranmere Rovers Match Preview
By Matthew Jones
September 26 2010
Total Tranmere brings you all the stats, facts and team news you need to know ahead of Tuesday night's League One fixture........
After another dismal and disappointing away performance and subsequent defeat, Tranmere Rovers have another long away trip ahead of them this Tuesday as they travel south-west to take on Bristol Rovers.
The Gas have had a solid start to the season, doubling Tranmere's points total of six from their opening eight games, and with a decent home record behind them, Paul Trollope's side will be hopeful of picking up another important three points in this League One fixture.
However, Les Parry will no doubt have his side fired up for this fixture after their hugely disappointing display at Colchester on Saturday, and hopefully he will get a response out of his side, many of whom must surely be playing for their places in the side as several injured players begin to return to the squad.
Bristol Rovers Factfile:
Ground: The Memorial Stadium
Formed: 1883
Nickname: The Gas/The Pirates
Manager: Paul Trollope
League Finish 2009/10: 11th
Kit
Colours: White and blue quartered shirt, white shorts and socks
(home), yellow and black quartered shirt, black shorts and yellow socks
(away)
Previous Meetings:
Tranmere Rovers managed to take four crucial points off Bristol Rovers last season, with each point necessary in helping to save the club from the drop.
Tranmere picked up what turned out to be their
final win of what had been a largely disappointing 2009 against
Bristol Rovers when the two sides met at Prenton Park just before
Christmas.
Rovers comfortably won the game 2-0, though the two goals would prove to be their last for over a month, as they failed to score in their next four league and cup matches.
Tranmere thoroughly deserved to win, as from the off they were the better team, with Logan, Thomas-Moore and Ian Goodison all coming close in the opening twenty minutes, whilst at the other end Daniels was called into action a couple of times to make some comfortable saves.
Gornell
came close for Tranmere late on in the first half, whilst just after
the break Bristol Rovers hit the bar through Williams, but moments later
Tranmere doubled their lead through Gareth Edds, who calmly volley home
from inside the area after controlling Ian Thomas-Moore's flick on from
Bakayogo's cross. Later in the season, when the two sides met again in League One at the Memorial Stadium, they played out a dull 0-0 draw as Tranmere extended their run to four away games without a defeat.
Les
Parry's side eventually got the break through with 29 minutes on the
clock, as striker Craig Curran netted his fifth, though unfortunately
his most recent goal of the season. The goal though was a stunner, as
the Rovers youth product picked the ball up on the edge of the area and
curled a perfect shot into the top corner with his left-foot.
Bristol Rovers were the most threatening side throughout, having eight shots to Tranmere's four, but in truth Luke Daniels was never really tested as he kept his first clean sheet for a month.
The biggest and most significant action of the game was the sending off of defender Zoumana Bakayogo, who picked up his second yellow card of the match in injury time, his second red card of the season.
Vital Stats:
Tranmere have played Bristol Rovers away just thirteen previous times and won only twice, losing on nine occasions
There has only been one away win in the last ten games at non-neutral venues between these two sides
Three of the last four games between these two sides have been won 2-0 by the home side
Tranmere won their only post-war trophy thanks to a 2-1 Football League Trophy final win over Bristol Rovers at Wembley on May 20th 1990
These two sides have faced each other twice before in Tuesday night matches, with Rovers failing to score as they lost the games 1-0 and 3-0
On This Day:
2002: Simon Haworth scores the only goal as Tranmere defeat Stockport County 1-0 at Prenton Park
1996: Rovers hold a strong Norwich side to a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road in Division One
1991: John King's Tranmere side draw 0-0 with Blackburn Road in Division Two
Tranmere
Rovers have played sixteen games in their history on this day, picking up six wins, four draws and six defeats. In these sixteen games, Rovers have scored seventeen goals and conceded 21. Tranmere are in fact unbeaten on this day in 25 years, having picked up four draws and one win from their last five games on this day.
The Form Book:
Bristol Rovers first four home games games: WDLW
Tranmere Rovers first five away games: LLDDW
This season, they have continued to show signs of improvement, and in their opening four home games, they have lost just once, though they have perhaps not scored as many goals as they would have liked to.
In their opening home game of the season, The Pirates defeated West Country rivals Yeovil Town 2-1 before suffering a 4-0 defeat to Southampton, a result that still, bizarrely, led to the sacking of Saints manager Alan Pardew.
The Gas then followed this up with a 0-0 draw against a solid Brentford outfit before recording their second home win of the season in their most recent game of the season, this a 2-1 defeat of Notts County on Saturday.
The Pirates come into this game in thirteenth place in the League One table, having picked up twelve of an available 24 points from their opening eight games, this thanks to three wins, three draws and two defeats.
Rovers started the season by going three games unbeaten on the road, first beating Walsall 1-0 in the League Cup thanks to a strike from Ian Goodison, before recording successive draws against Huddersfield Town (0-0) and Dagenham and Redbridge (2-2).
The Dagenham display however perhaps showed glimspes of what was to come for Tranmere, as they had to battle back from 2-0 down to pick up a draw, a result which many claimed was unmerited.
Since the Dagenham game, Tranmere have played on the road twice and conceded six goals, losing to both Yeovil and Colchester by a 3-1 scoreline, with Rovers conceding all the goals in the first half of each match.
Rovers therefore come into this game having played four league games away from Prenton Park so far this season, picking up two of an available 12 points, thanks to two draws and two defeats.
Notable results at home for Tranmere so far include a 1-0 win over Peterborough and a battling 1-1 draw with promotion hopefuls Charlton Athletic.
Double Hit:
One player
to have represented both Bristol Rovers and Tranmere Rovers man who
will always be welcomed back to Prenton Park with a heroes reception,
having scored two beautiful headers against Everton in a 3-0 win for
Tranmere at Goodison Park in 2001.
The man of course is Steve
Yates, who started his career at Bristol Rovers and made nearly 250
appearances over a five year stint with the club, though amazingly the
defender failed to ever score for his hometown club!
In
1993, following his strong form for the Gas, Yates left Rovers for
Queens Park Rangers in a transfer worth £650,000. He would stay with
QPR over the next six years, playing in the Premier League for the club
and becoming a crucial defender at Loftus Road, as he made 150
appearances in six years with the club, scoring his first two goals in
professional football.
It was with Tranmere Rovers where the
defender became famous for his goalscoring though, with Yates signing
for John Aldridge's side on a free-transfer in the summer of 1999, with
the defender briefly taking the captain's armband at Prenton Park.
Though
he would only be at Prenton Park for three years, Yates became a cult
figure on the Wirral, as he was part of the Tranmere side that reached
the League Cup final in 2000, and F.A. Cup Quarter Finals in 2000 and
2001.
He made 137 appearances in three years for Tranmere, and
without doubt his most perfect imput for the club was in that 3-0 win at
Goodison, though he also scored against the likes of Liverpool and
Portsmouth in cup competitions for John Aldridge's side.
Yates
though left Prenton Park in 2002, joining Sheffield United, where he
would make just thirteen appearances in a year, before joining
Huddersfield Town in 2003. 
At
the Galpharm Stadium, Yates featured much more regularly, and played a
key role in the Terriers' defence over 2 and a half years, making 60
appearances before moving in to non-league football with Scarborough and
Morecambe.
In 2007, Yates retired from football having helped
Morecambe win the Conference play-offs and move into the Football League
for the first time.
One To Watch:
A few eyebrows were raised when Will Hoskins joined Bristol Rovers in the summer on a free transfer from Championship side Watford.
The striker had struggled through a three-year spell with the Hornets, failing to ever really cement his place in the first team at Vicerage Road, but has previously proved his ability at this level.
Hoskins started his career with Rotherham, where he came through the youth ranks and made his debut for the club aged on seventeen, this after signing professional aged just sixteen.
Over four years in the first team with Rotherham, Hoskins proved to be a highly progressive player and managed to net 25 times for the club in 81 games, though over half these appearances were as a substitute.
Due to Rotherham's mounting financial problems, which eventually led them to entering administraton and being deducted points twice, as well as losing their Millmoor ground, Hoskins had to be sold, and in 2007 he joined Watford for an undisclosed fee.
Over three years at Watford though, Hoskins managed to start only 33 games, making a further 37 substitute appearances and scoring nine goals. He also spent time on loan at both Millwall and Nottingham Forest during the 2007/08 season.
In the summer, following his release by Watford, Hoskins returned to League One, signing for Bristol Rovers, and he has begun to blossom and show the form that earned him a move to the Premier League three and a half years ago.
Having played nine times so far this season, Hoskins has already netted four goals including two strikes that proved crucial in a 2-1 victory over Notts County last Saturday.
The 24-year old is a definate goal scorer, especially inside the box, who will make a number of threatening runs which will cause the Tranmere defence several problems. He wears the number eight shirt for the club.
Around League One:
Once again there is a full round of fixtures in NPower League One this week evening, with all twelve fixtures taking place on Tuesday evening.
Bournemouth vs. Exeter
Brighton vs. Brentford
Bristol Rovers vs. Tranmere
Charlton vs. MK Dons
Colchester vs. Dagenham and Redbridge
Hartlepool vs. Carlisle
Leyton Orient vs. Walsall
Peterborough vs. Notts County
Rochdale vs. Huddersfield
Sheffield Wednesday vs. Oldham
Swindon vs. Plymouth
Yeovil vs. Southampton
Team News:
Parry is however without long term injury absentee's Marlon Broomes, Ashton Taylor, Alan Mahon and Gunnar Nielsen, whilst Liam Darville remains a doubt and Sam Morrow faces a few weeks on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury.
Jermaine Grandison and Arnaud Mendy could play their final games for the club should Parry decide against extending their loan deals this week, whilst Paul McLaren or Ryan Fraughan could start in midfield.
Jones' Prediction: Bristol Rovers 1-1 Tranmere Rovers
Lightning may have struck twice in recent weeks as Tranmere have lost successive away games 3-1, but I'm not sure it will strike for a third time when Rovers take on Bristol this Tuesday.
Les Parry and his coaching team will have surely at the very least have attempted to address Rovers' persistent problem of conceding early goals and hopefully Tranmere will go into this game better drilled and switched on from the start.
Bristol Rovers are, without doubt, a good side but on their day, Tranmere can mix it with the best sides in this division, and as such, if Tranmere can put in a decent shift in Tuesday evening's gae, then they should at least be able take a point from this match.
The key for Tranmere though is keeping the ball on the floor and playing more flowing, passing football. They looked much better when Ryan Fraughan entered the fray at Colchester on Saturday and looked to pass the ball about a bit more.
We must not continue to play aimless hoof ball towards Akins and Jennings (should either or both play) as they are unlikely to win high looping passes and would be much more effective if asked to attack and run onto balls on the floor.
Tranmere also must start the game from the first whistle. Throughout the season we've shown capable of being a much stronger side in the second half of matches, but in the opening minutes of matches we've been weak and vulnerable and indeed of the fourteen league goals we've conceded, ten have been in the first 45 minutes of the game.
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