Match Preview: Macclesfield Town v Tranmere Rovers

As Tranmere prepare to for the Boxing Day away trip to Macclesfield Town on Saturday afternoon, Louise Formston returns with her match preview ahead of the game.....

The festive season is well upon us and all the talk in Football is about how your performance over this christmas period can define your season, something echoed by Scott Davies this week as he emphasised the importance of Tranmere coming through the next through games unscathed.  With three matches in seven days Rovers kick off their festive fixtures with a Boxing Day trip to Moss Rose as they take on Macclesfield Town.

Previous Meeting:

Rovers have travelled to Moss Rose twice before, both in the Football League Trophy (or JPT).  Most recently was 2004, where a Gareth Roberts goal saw Tranmere head into the semi-finals where they eventually lost to Oldham on penalties.

Form Guide:

Macclesfield currently sit sixth in the National League table, with 41 points - six ahead of Rovers, however the Silkmen have played a game extra so far this season.  Macclesfield won their last league outing, a 1-0 win over Welling but since then have cooly dispatched Ashton United in the FA Trophy, scoring four goals in the process.

Despite their last two wins, Macclesfield had a poor start to December losing to both Eastleigh and Southport. But thanks to a solid October and November, Maccesfield have stayed within touching distance of the playoffs.  Rovers meanwhile have struggled.  Their last win came against Guiseley over a month ago, since then Rovers have had three losses and two draws - the most recent being last Saturday on an away trip to Halifax.

Over the season Tranmere have struggled for goals, especially that elusive second goal when already one nil up.  Macclesfield have no such worries, having scored 41 already this season.

Injuries and Suspensions:

With no players suspended for this weekend’s clash, Rovers’ only concerns ahead of the game surround Liam Ridehalgh, who has most recently played left back with some success but has yet to train this week after he picked up an ankle injury, and fellow defenders Martin Riley and Marcus Holness who have both returned to training but may not be fully fit in time for Saturday.  Just Liam Hogan remains a long term absence.

The Opposition Dugout:

Currently in charge of Macclesfield Town is John Askey - the definition of a “one club man”.  Askey, a striker, only ever played for Macclesfield during his 19 year long career, making over 500 hundred appearances and scoring over a 100 goals for the Silkmen.  By the last days of his playing career, Askey was already an assistant manager to David Moss and was the natural replacement in 2003 following Moss’ sacking. A

lthough the club legend started well, his managerial stint took a turn for a worse and after one win in 13 matches and relegation to the conference a very real threat, Askey was shown the door, almost.  He stayed on as Assistant Manager but moved to the Youth Team Management when Paul Ince joined Macclesfield as manager.  After another managerial sacking, Askey was handed the job again in 2013, and has remained at the helm ever since.  Currently Askey is assisted by former Macclesfield player - Efe Sodje.

One to Watch:

Kristian Dennis - 25 (Striker):

Kristian has to be my one to watch this week.  With 22 appearances and 18 goals this season, he’s on fire and currently top scorer in the League.  Dennis has scored at least one in the last six games he’s played in, having really started to find his form at the start of November after a patchy start.

Dennis arrived at Moss Rose in the summer, after signing on loan from Stockport.  Dennis made a few appearances for Macclesfield, where he started his career in 2008, whilst they were still in the Football League but apart from that, he’s spent most of his playing life in the non-league world appearing for Woodley Sports, Curzon Ashton and Stockport County amongst others.  With his current form, stopping Dennis from scoring would be a huge achievement for Rovers on Saturday.

Kristian isn’t the only player scoring for Macclesfield currently; Danny Whitehead and Paul Lewis both have four apiece, whilst Danny Whitaker has six this season. Reece Styche is also now a Macclesfield player having signed on loan from Kidderminster.  Rovers’ fans might remember Styche as he was the player who secured a draw for Kidderminster by scoring their second goal at Prenton Park back in August.  Although yet to make a start for Macclesfield, Styche has come off the bench three times since moving to the club at the end of October.

Around the League:

Barrow vs Gateshead:  Gateshead are just two points ahead of Rovers but this could rise to five should Rovers fail to win and Gateshead racking up all three away to Barrow who sit 15th in the League.

Kidderminster vs Cheltenham:  Bottom of the table versus top of the table in this Boxing Day clash.  Should Cheltenham win and other results go their way, they could be seven points clear at the top by tea time.

Wrexham vs Southport:  A reasonably local affair for these two sides over Christmas. An up turn in form has seen Southport rise out of the relegation zone while Wrexham are just three points off the play off places.

My Starting XI:

Davies

Vaughan         Sutton        Ihiekwe           Ridehalgh

    Harris            Jennings        

Mekki                       Maynard                        Kirby

 Norwood

This week I struggled with a team, I knew the players I wanted to play but couldn’t find a way to fit them all in - Brabin really hasn’t given me the most balanced side in the world to work with!  I’ve gone with some weird, 4-2-3-1 which is essentially a 4-5-1 but with Mekki and Kirby both taking their chances to get forward, and make us more attacking.

Meanwhile, there’s Harris available to protect the defence, and Maynard who what do you know had a reasonable game playing in his attacking role last weekend.  Whilst it could be too narrow, we are playing away from home, needing to not lose and hopefully with Vaughan and Ridehalgh they can provide some width and support down the flanks.

Thank you for the great feedback on my midseason review.  I was inspired to do it after the Wrexham game left me frustrated at what I was watching week in week out.  When it came down to looking at the stats, we weren’t actually doing too badly, just not as great as we’d hoped to be!  In reply to those who asked, both here and on Twitter - yes I’d love to be Rovers’ Manager!  I’ve got a few FA badges already but not quite enough to qualify me unfortunately.