Match Preview: Tranmere Rovers v FC Halifax Town

As Tranmere return to Prenton Park after two games away from home, Louise Formston returns with her match preview for Tuesday evening's home game against Halifax Town....

Halifax Town head to Prenton Park on Tuesday in search of their first win of the season whilst Tranmere Rovers will be keen to stretch their unbeaten run to four games.  Last weekend saw Rovers draw 0-0 away to Braintree Town whilst Halifax lost 3-2 at home to Torquay United.  Tranmere’s draw has left them fourth in the table equal on points to promotion favourites Grimsby and Eastleigh as well as local rivals Chester.  Halfiax however, find themselves down at the wrong end of National League Table, with no points so far this season and only goals for keeping them off the bottom.  Both teams will be looking for goals and points on Tuesday, hopefully meaning an exciting game for the fans.

Previous Meetings:

The stats point in Rovers’ favour ahead of Tuesdays’ game, with the Whites winning 48 of the 110 matches between the sides, with Halifax coming out victors only 34 times.  The last meeting between the two sides came back in 2000, when the teams met in the League Cup.  Ex-Norwich striker Grant Holt scored for Halifax, but it wasn’t enough with Tranmere winning 5-1 on aggregate.  The last League meeting between the two came even earlier, in the 1988/1989 season in Division 4 with Tranmere winning both games that season.

Injuries and Suspensions:

After being substituted early on during Saturday’s game, Liam Hogan remains a doubt for Tuesday’s match.  Brabin revealed during his Braintree post-match interview that Hogan’s is a foot injury but did not elaborate further – here’s hoping it’s nothing serious.  With everyone else seemingly coming through the Braintree game unscathed and Norwood and Riley both playing their parts gaining match fitness, Brabin should have almost full squad to choose from. Equally, Halifax didn’t lose anyone to injury or suspension over the weekend and will be looking to utilise the best of their squad to try and register those all-important first points.

The Opposition Dugout:

Neil Aspin has been in charge at Halifax since 2009 and has even played in a couple of games during his tenure.  An ex-footballer, Aspin has played for Leeds, Hartlepool and Port Vale amongst others before taking his first managerial job at Harrogate Town in 2004.  Aspin kept Harrogate in the top half of the Conference North for his entire spell as manager; even pushing for promotion to the Conference Premier before deciding he could take the club no further.

The 50-year old moved to Halifax Town and in his first season had them promoted from the Northern Premier League - Division One North with over 100 points.  His second season saw Town promoted again, before spending two years in the Conference North and securing promotion to the Conference Premier (now National League) in 2013. Their first season in the National League saw Halifax finish 5^th making the playoffs before losing to Cambridge United in the semi-final.

Aspin failed to make quite as much of a success out of last season, with The Shaymen finishing 9^th after a loss of form saw them drop down the table. Having not spent more than two years in a division under Aspin, Halifax Town will be keen to emulate previous success and get out the National League this year.

One to Watch:

Jordan Burrow - Striker (22) - English

Burrow’s three goals in three games already this season has seen him tie for second in the League’s top scorers.  The striker learnt his trade at Chesterfield, as a product of their academy, signing a professional contract with The Spireites in 2011.  In 2012, Burrow moved to Morecambe making over 50 appearances for the club and scoring 5 goals in the process.

After 18 months, Burrow moved again this time to Stevenage, maintaining his 1 in 10 goal to game ratio before another move to Lincoln last season.  Albeit not a prolific goal scorer, Burrow’s record this season is definitely doing something to bring down his goal to game ratio. B urrow also shares my birthday so was an obvious choice One to Watch this week!

Also playing for Halifax Town this season is Andy Bishop.  The ex-Wrexham striker signed for the club this summer after being released by Gary Mills at Wrexham. Scoring 10 goals in 42 appearances for Wrexham last season, Bishop will be looking for opportunities to get off the mark on Tuesday after coming close over the weekend.

Around the League:

Boreham Wood vs Forest Green Rovers:  Saturday’s opponents Boreham Wood will take on League leaders Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night. FGR are undefeated so far this season whilst Boreham Wood have managed just one win (against Halifax on the opening day) and two losses.

Chester vs Cheltenham:  With two wins and a draw, Chester sit level on points with Rovers and will be looking to jump even further up the table with a win over Cheltenham who have started life in the National League steadily, with two draws and a win so far.

My Starting XI:

     Davies

Ihiekwie             Sutton                 Riley            Hill

Mekki                   Jennings             Harris            Ridehalgh

 Mangan             Margetts

A couple of changes to the team from what I picked to start against Braintree.  Riley in for the injured Hogan as I’m not convinced he’ll be fit after rumours of him sitting on the bench with his foot in a boot and crutches close by surfaced.  Mekki and Ridehalgh will hopefully provide some pace and the creative outlet (mostly Mekki) we seemed to lack on Saturday.  With two almost real life wingers on the pitch, Margetts and Mangan will hopefully be provided with the service they need to start that challenge for top scorer this season.