Huddersfield Town vs. Tranmere Rovers match preview
By Matthew Jones
August 13 2010
Total Tranmere brings you all the stats, facts and team news you need to know ahead of Saturday's League One trip to Huddersfield
Copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission.
Tranmere Rovers travel to top of the table Huddersfield Town this weekend hopeful of picking up their first points of the season.
Huddersfield have spent big in the transfer window this summer, but Rovers will still be confident of picking up at least a point following their 3-3 draw here last year and their 1-0 away win over Walsall in midweek.
This will be a stern test for Les Parry and his side, but Rovers are expected to bring a large following to Yorkshire, with the journey being one of Tranmere's shortest this season, and hopefully the fans will help spur their team onto a victory.
Huddersfield Town 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 Rovers failed to beat Huddersfield last season, though they did pick up a morale boosting draw at the Galpharm Stadium in December.
In a thoroughly exciting match, Huddersfield three times took the lead, only for Tranmere to equalise within a couple of minutes every time. In total, Tranmere were in fact only behind for eight minutes in the whole match!
The goals started early, with Huddersfield taking the lead after just six minutes when Lee Novak fired past Luke Daniels and into the top corner.
Two minutes later however Tranmere equalised through skipper Ian Thomas-Moore, who fired home from 12-yards after Terry Gornell's shot was saved by 'keeper Smithies.
Both 'keepers had saves to make over the next 37 minutes, but there wasn't in fact another goal until after half time.
Michael Collins got the goal, as he fired home from 20-yards after Goodison had failed to clear Roberts' cross, but Tranmere equalised again just two minutes later as Craig Curran ran on to a through ball and slotted neatly home into the bottom corner.
Tranmere could have had a penalty when Gornell went down in the area, whilst Welsh also saw a shot well saved, but it was Huddersfield who scored next, with former Tranmere capain Antony Kay grabbing the goal, though he refused to celebrate after he stabbed the ball home from close range.
With just nine minutes left when Huddersfield scored, Tranmere, this time, looked dead and buried, but again they managed to fight their way level, as Michael Ricketts headed home a corner with just five minutes left.
The game at Prenton Park later in the season was less exciting, as Huddersfield picked up a 2-0 win over Tranmere who after a win against Leyton Orient in their previous game had moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since August.
Tranmere
had their chances to win the game, but two Lee Novak goals, one in each
half, were enough to secure the visitors the win, as firstly he saw a
header narrowly cross the line, before in the second half he drilled a
low shot past Daniels as he sprinted clear of the Tranmere defence.
Vital Stats:
Tranmere Rovers have won just six of 21 trips to Huddersfield, also picking up five wins and ten defeats
Rovers have lost just two of their last seven away matches against Huddersfield
Tranmere have scored eighteen times in their 21 trips to Huddersfield, with the Terriers netting on 26 occasions, with five of Tranmere's goals coming in their last two trips to the Galpharm
Tranmere have lost just five of their eleven trips to the Galpharm Stadium
Tranmere have a 100% record against Huddersfield when the two sides have met in August, winning all three times the two sides have met in the opening month of the season.
On This Day:
2007: Matty
McNeil scores the only goal as Tranmere go out of the League Cup after a
1-0 defeat to Stockport County at Edgely Park
2004: Eugene Dadi scores the only goal as Brian Little's Tranmere defeat Chesterfield 1-0 at Prenton Park
1999:
Stockport County inflict another defeat to Tranmere Rovers on this day, beating John Aldridge's side 2-1 at Edgely Park
Tranmere have played six previous matches on this day, picking up two wins, one draw and three defeats. They have scored five goals and conceded six in these six matches. Out of these six matches, four have been away from home, with Rovers losing three and drawing one of their four away matches on this day, scoring just two goals and conceding five.
The Form Book:
Big spending Huddersfield Town are currently top of NPower League One, a place they could occupy for some time if their squad lives up to expectations.
Lee Clark's
side rose to League One's summit thanks to a 3-0 win over newly
promoted Notts County last weekend, with Pilkington (x2) and Rhodes
scoring the goals, whilst four days later Rhodes was again on target as
Huddersfield knocked Carlisle out of the Carling Cup with a 1-0 win.
These two wins followed what had however been a mixed pre-season for Huddersfield, with the Terriers only winning three of their 2010/11 season warm up matches.
They opened their pre-season games with successive wins, beating local sides Emley (5-0) and Bradford P.A. (3-0), before losing 1-0 to Frickley Town.
Lee
Clark's side then began to test themselves against Football League
opposition, drawing 1-1 with Bury before impressively beating Premier
League side Blackburn Rovers 1-0, though this would be their final win
of pre-season.
The
Terriers lost their remaining three pre-season games however, starting
with a 3-1 defeat to Barnsley, before losing to Scunthorpe United (2-0)
and Fleetwood Town (1-0).
The
summer also brought a lot of comings and goings for Huddersfield Town,
with their wealthy chairman funding several big name signings during the
transfer window.
Despite losing the likes of Phil Jevons, Lionel Ainsworth and Michael Collins, the Terriers have also brought in big name signings such as Joe Garner from Nottingham Forest (loan), Gary Naysmith from Sheffield United, Ian Bennett on a free transfer, Jamie McCombe from Bristol City, Damien Johnson from Plymouth Argyle, Graham Carey from Celtic, Lee Croft from Derby County and, to top it all off, former Aston Villa midfielder Joey Gudjonsson from Burnley.
It is also rumoured that Lee Clark is hopeful of bringing Crystal Palace striker Alan Lee to the Galpharm Stadium, with a transfer fee of £300,000 being qouted for the former Ipswich striker.
These summer signings add to what was already a very strong pool of players for Huddersfield Town and without doubt, with all their financial backing and quality League One players, they will be challanging for promotion come the end of the season.
Les Parry's started the seaason with a loss, losing 2-1 on Saturday against Oldham at Prenton Park despite a late goal from Ian Thomas-Moore, but four days later they picked up their first win of the season against Walsall, with Ian Goodison scoring as Tranmere won 1-0, their first away league cup win for eight years.
These two results follow what was an inconsistent pre-season for the Wirral side, with a handful of wins mixed in with disappointing draws and defeats.
Tranmere, who never had a settled side throughout pre-season due to injuries and a large number of trialists playing to impress, started with two 2-2 draws against local None League sides Heswall and Cammell Laird on the same night.
They followed these games with further draws against Colywn Bay and Mansfield, as well as a defeat against Shrewsbury, though no doubt the highlight of the pre-season results was a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, when Nick Wood and Ian Thomas-Moore both scored headed goals.
Other results for Tranmere this summer saw them lose 3-2 to Altrincham, 2-0 to Liverpool and 2-1 to Chester, although all of these games involved very few first team players, whilst they also beat Marine 3-2.
Double Hit:
Through the years, a great
number of players have represented both Tranmere Rovers and Huddersfield
Town, including Tranmere greats Steve Yates, Kenny Irons and Wayne
Allison.
One other player who has represented both teams is
midfielder Des Hamilton, who spent time on loan at Tranmere during the
2000/01 season.
Hamilton started his career at Bradford and after
almost three full seasons as a professional with the club, he moved to
Newcastle United for £1,500,000 in March 1997.
Hamilton rarely
got a look in on the first team however with the Magpies, making just 18
appearances (and scoring once) in four years with the club.
After a brief stay at Sheffield United in the middle of the 1998/99 season, Hamilton moved to The Terriers on loan for two months in February 1999. He played ten games and scored once for Town before his loan move expired and impressed the Huddersfield crowd with his performances.
After a spell at Norwich at the end of the 1999/2000 season, Hamilton spent two spells on loan at Rovers in the 2000/01 season, both of which were cut short by injury. On his first spell for the club, Hamilton had played two league games before being stretchered off in a League Cup tie against Leeds when Rovers were 2-0 down, a game Aldo's side went on to win 3-2 after extra time, before Hamilton returned in January of the same season.
Hamilton was released by Newcastle at the end of the 2000/01 season and joined Cardiff where he 35 games in two seasons before joining Grimsby in 2003 where he made 31 appearances in one season for the club. After joining Barnet in 2004, Hamilton retired from football.
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.
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.
Around League One:
Following League Cup action midweek, 20 League One teams return to league action this weekend. The game between Southampton and MK Dons has been postponed after the death of Southampton's owner, Markus Liebherr, this week, whilst Exeter's trip to Dagenham and Redbridge has also been postponed after Exter striker Adam Stansfield died of cancer this week, aged just 31.
Bournemouth vs. Peterborough
Brentford vs. Walsall
Brighton vs. Rochdale
Bristol Rovers vs. Yeovil
Colchester vs. Sheffield Wednesday
Hartlepool United vs. Swindon
Huddersfield Town vs. Tranmere Rovers
Oldham vs. Notts County
Plymouth vs. Carlisle
Team News:
Les Parry is set to name the same outfield ten that started on Tuesday following Rovers' win over Walsall. However, there is some doubt over who will keep goal in the match.
Joe Collister put in a Man of the Match performance against Walsall on Tuesday, keeping a hugely important clean sheet at Tranmere won 1-0, but he could lose his place to goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen, who returns from international duty with the Faroe Islands.
Tranmere have a couple of extra attacking options ahead of this game, having signed Adam McGurk and Kayleden Brown on one month deals and they are both expected to be named amongst Tranmere's substitutes, meaning Max Power will again miss out along with Liam Benson.
However,
Rovers will continue to be without four injury absentee's, with
defensive trio Ash Taylor, Marlon Broomes and Timothy Cathalina all set
to miss the game, along with midfielder Alan Mahon.
Jones' Prediction: Huddersfield 2-2 Tranmere Rovers
This
will, without doubt, be a really tough game for Tranmere Rovers against
a side who many expect to challange strongly for automatic promotion
this season.
However, Tranmere showed they can win on the road with a 1-0 win at Walslal on Tuesday, and will be full of confidence following that result, whilst they also showed last season that they could mix it with the big boys of the division, with a 3-3 draw at Huddersfield a particular highlight.
I think then that Tranmere havea chance to sneak something fdrom this game, though it will more likely be a draw than a win.
Though
Huddersfield have lots of options and plenty of attacking fire power,
Tranmere also have a strong defence, and having brought in some new
strikers this week, they will hopefully be more potent in front of goal.
For me, the
key for Tranmere is set pieces. We have a big side this season, with
the likes of Showunmi, Goodison, Labadie and Wood all players
who should dominate in the air due to their height, so Rovers should
have chances to score from free kicks and corners. It's therefore
important that Paul McLaren continues his form from Tuesday night and
puts some decent deliveries into the box.
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2-1 rovers thomas_moore double
we can all dream