Tranmere Rovers vs. Scunthorpe match preview

Last updated : 19 April 2007 By Matthew Jones
Moore set to give youth a run out
Tranmere Rovers take on the already promoted Scunthorpe United at Prenton Park this weekend, with a win for their opponents clinching them the title should Bristol City fail to beat Carlisle United.

Rovers still mathmatically have a chance to make the play-offs, but with nine points to play for and with them lying six points behind Oldham in sixth place, the game only offers an opportunity for Ronnie Moore to give younsters such as Craig Curran, Steve Davies, Paul Henry and co. a start in the first team.


Scunthorpe United team profile:

Formed: 1899

Ground: Glanford Park

Manager: Nigel Adkins (Caretaker Manager)

Nickname: The Iron

Season Finish 2005/06: 12th (Coca-Cola League One

Previous Meetings:

When the two sides met at Glanford Park earlier in the season, the game had huge significance as Rovers went into the game just one point behind their opponents.

The Tranmere fans were in good voice through-out the match as they sang all game and hoped to make the most of the game after sitting in traffic jams by Leeds and Manchester on their way over from the Wirral on this cold Tuesday night in December.

It was Scunthorpe who took the lead on 41-minutes after a controversial free-kick was awarded against Paul McLaren. Morris whipped the ball into the box and it was missed by both Goodison and McCready before falling to Andy Keogh (now with Wolves) who netted to give the Iron the lead.

Tranmere came out for the second half fighting though, and within minutes hHane Sherriff had netted the Tranmere equaliser.

Calvin Zola won a corner which was put into the area by Chris Shuker. The ball eventually fell to an unmarked Sherriff who netted from close range to level the scores.

Vital Stats:

Only two out of 25 meetings between the two sides at Prenton Park have ended all-square

Rovers haven't kept a clean sheet against the Iron in their last seven attempts

In a total of 50 matches between the two sides, there has only been one 0-0 draw

The only other occassion when Rovers have played a Lincolnshire club on 21st April they lost 8-0 to Lincoln City (1930)

Rovers have eight wins in 20 matches on April 21st

The Form Book:

Tranmere last 6 home games: WLLWDW
Scunthorpe last 6 away games: LDDWWW

Scunthorpe haven't been in particularly inspiring form on the road of late, picking up just two points from their last three away games. However, in their last 21 games (home and away) the Iron have lost just once, picking up 14 wins in the process.

Most recently on the road, Scunthorpe suffered their first defeat in 19 games as they last 2-1 at Northampton Town on Easter Monday, this following up draws with Leyton Orient (2-2) and Brighton (1-1).

However, Scunny had won three in a row before this in their six match sequence, beating Brentford (2-0), Crewe (3-1) after doing Rovers a favour by beating Swansea City (2-0) at the Liberty stadium.

Other notable results on the road for Scunthorpe this season include a 4-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest at the City Ground and wins at Yeovil (2-0), Carlisle (2-0) and Millwall (1-0).

From a total of 21 away games this season, Scunthorpe have picked up a total of 37 points from an available 63 with ten wins, seven draws and just four defeats.

Tranmere's home form since the turn of the year could well be what will cost them a play-off place at the end of the season, as they have picked up just five wins from their ten away games since the turn of the year, including two defeats.

Most recently at Prenton Park, Tranmere beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 after a dismal performance and after trailing 1-0. This result followed two consecutive home defeats for the first time since Ronnie Moore came to Prenton Park after Carlisle United and Swansea City put hhuge dents in Tranmere's play-off ambitions by winning 2-0 on the Wirral.

Before the defeat to Swansea, Tranmere had defeated Chesterfield 2-0 but this followed a 2-2 draw against relegation threatened Cheltenham Town, a game which Tranmere had trailed 2-0.

The other game in the six match sequence however was an excellent result for Tranmere as they defeated Doncaster Rovers 1-0 at Prenton Park thanks to a Chris Greenacre header.

Other notable home results for Tranmere this season include wins over Yeovil Town (2-1), Oldham (1-0), Bristol City (1-0), Millwall (3-1) and Blackpool (2-0).

From a total of 21 home games this season Tranmere have earned 41 points from an available 63 thanks to 12 wins, five draws and four defeats.


Double Hit:

There are currently three links between the two sides at Glanford Park, with both Richie Hinds and Joe Murphy being part of John Aldridge's successful team to reach Wembley whilst manager Nigel Adkins is a former Tranmere goalkeeper.

Wirral born Adkins started his career with Tranmere Rovers, his home town club, in 1983 as a goalkeeper and went on to make 86 appearances for the club before leaving to join Wigan in 1986 just before Tranmere went on their "journey to the moon" under John King.

Adkins stayed with the Latics for seven years before leaving in 1993 and made an impressive 155 appearances for the club.

However, it's as a manager where Adkins has made his name. He lead Bangor City to Citizens' Title victories in the League of Wales in 1994 and 1995 before he became physio at Scunthorpe.

In 2006 when Brian Laws left the Iron for Sheffield Wednesday, Scunthorpe appoined Adkins as caretaker manager. An instant success, Adkins was soon offered the job on a full time basis and has guided the Iron to promotion to the Coca-Cola Championship with three games remaining this season.

One To Watch:

There is only one man to watch out for in the Scunthorpe line up, that person being striker Billy Sharp, the leading scorer in League One this season.

So far this season, Sharp has scored 30 goals (28 in the league) from just 47 goals and his Scunthorpe career Sharp has netted a total of 54 goals in 92 games, including 51 league goals in 79 games.

Sharp, a striker, started his career with Neil Warnock at Sheffield United where he failed to break into the first team, making just two appearances for the club between 2004 and 2005.

Whilst with the Blades, Sharp had a four month loan spell with Rushden and Diamonds, scoring nine times in 16 games and this was enough to convince Brian Laws at Scunthorpe to buy the 5'09 striker for £100,000 after Scunthorpe's promotion to League One in the summer of 2005.

Sharp has been a huge success with the Iron, mainly thanks to his pace but mainly due to his breath-taking finishing ability from both inside and outside the box.

The Scunthorpe number 24 has scored eight goals in his last nine games and has been pivitol on their promotion to The Championship.

Team News:

Ronnie Moore has announced that Craig Curran will start for Tranmere for the first time against Scunthorpe, meaning that either of Chris Shuker or Chris Greenacre could be rested. Calvin Zola is set to continue upfront after scoring for the third time in three games against Millwall last weekend whilst Paul Henry and Steve Davies could also feature. Rovers however will be without Carl Tremarco (hamstring) and John Achterberg (shin) for the game.

Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 1-3 Scunthorpe United