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Tranmere home preview for Saturday

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Tranmere home preview for Saturday

Postby Sweden Stag » Thu Aug 04, 2022 12:21 pm

Following the earliest-ever opener of an EFL season during the entire Stags League history dating back to 1931, an away opener which ended in a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Salford, the Stags are at headquarters this weekend with Tranmere Rovers as visitors. On the same opening day, Tranmere lost at home to Stevenage with ex-Stag Kane Hemmings netting for Tranmere in the 1-2 defeat.

Last season, it was all about sequences.

When the Stags played Tranmere at home last season, they had endured their longest winless EFL spell for eight years, of twelve games /thirteen in 2013-14/. That run ended with a comfortable 2-0 home victory against Tranmere. Before that game, the Stags were inside the EFL bottom two. From then on, the Stags only moved upwards in the League Two table, and had a record-breaking run of eight consecutive three-pointers around and after the turn of the year. And before the away game at Tranmere, the Stags were unbeaten in fourteen League games after a defeat at Sutton last november.

On that same night, Tranmere started a long run as well. Six consecutive League Two victories, eventually eight of nine, and eleven games unbeaten, catapulted Tranmere from mid-table into the automatics. In total, they lost only once in fifteen League Two fixtures after their last season reverse at One Call.

The Stags’ long unbeaten run eventually ended in dramatic added time fashion at Prenton Park in March.

While the Stags eventually made the playoffs, Tranmere only just fell short, but won more League Two games (16) than any other side, followed by the Stags with fifteen.

So the Stags and Tranmere know lots about sequences, not only from last season. Following a Tranmere 2-1 victory at Field Mill in 1969-70, Tranmere did not win any of their following 16 Third Division games, including a 1-1 draw against the Stags at Prenton Park on February 28, 1970, yet finished that season with thirteen games unbeaten. The 6-1 home victory against Tranmere in October 1962 (see more below) was the first one out of 28 consecutive Fourth Division games in which the Stags scored at last once. That sequence ended incidentally with a 5-1 defeat away at Tranmere in April 1963.

The sides met on the opening day of of the 2020.21 season at One Call and played out a goal-less draw, being the latest-ever opening day Stags League fixture. And the return fixture at Prenton Park ended up in a creditable and deserved 1-1 draw a year ago.

The 2019-20 season was also one of far too many off-the-field decisions regarding relegation. One victim were Wigan due to entering administration, and the Latics were relegated to League One, meaning a Barnsley reprieve for the second time (the first being in 2012 when Portsmouth were docked points). In League Two, the worst side for a few seasons, Stevenage, eventually were reprieved due to several Macclesfield off-the-field-dealings, costing the Silkmen 17 points due to disciplinary cases and their place in League Two after two seasons, and also their place in the Conf National. In 2020-21, Sheffield Wednesday were the victims, and this season, it might be Derby County, both in Championship. And in 2019-20, Tranmere were relegated back to the basement on a points-per-game basis when that campaign was curtailed.

By the way, the first League side to be reprieved were the Stags way back in the 1967-68, when they were spared relegation to the fourth tier when Peterborough, then finishing in ninth position, were demoted due to reasons off the field. Then, Tranmere finished one place and three points above the Stags.

When the sides played at Mansfield in April 2015, both sides were on extremely poor runs. Both sides had then lost five in a row at one stage during the run. The Stags had lost five prior to the Tranmere game, while Tranmere one month earlier had lost five in a row. A Reggie Lambe strike just before half-time was enough to all but secure the Stags’ stay in League Two, while for Tranmere, it was to be third of six straight reverses during the run-in. That poor run-in with one win and twelve defeats, many odd-goal ones, was enough to catapult Tranmere out of the FL following their relegation from League One the previous campaign.

Tranmere were to stay outside the FL for three seasons. Following their playoff final defeat against Forest Green in 2017, they came back the following term by overcoming Boreham Wood. Tranmere are maybe the only side to have won two consecutive playoff finals as they also won the 2018-19 League Two one against Newport.

One Stags player in the 2015 meeting between the sides, was to play for Tranmere in all their seasons outside the FL. The name: Richie Sutton, last season at Altrincham, back in the Conf national, previously being the reprieve Kings of that league, reprieved for three consecutive seasons a little more than a decade ago. Sutton’s latest club is reported to be Nantwich.

And incredibly enough, the side who followed Tranmere out of the FL in 2015, Cheltenham, returned to League Two immediately after relegation. This is the fastest FL return of two sides relegated since two up, two down from the FL came into being before the start of the 2002-03 season, a campaign in which the Stags routed Tranmere 6-1 at home at current League One level on October 5, 2002. That rout was preceded by four consecutive Stags home defeats without even scoring.

The 2014-15 season was the first basement one for Tranmere for twenty-five years following promotion in 1989, then ending a ten-season stint in the fourth division. Since then, Tranmere spent a decade in the FL second tier from the 1991-92 season onwards and during that spell, they finished fourth in 1992-93, then fifth in each of the two following campaigns. During the same time, they finished League Cup runners-up in 2000 and reached the semi-final in 1994.

Tranmere’s visit to Mansfield in 2002 was not the only one in which the Prenton Park outfit had been hit for six. This had happened on three earlier occasions.

Here are the facts.

On March 10, 1956, the Stags routed Tranmere 6-0, on October 1, 1962, the Stags won 6-1 in the fourth division, three goals from Roy Chapman, and finally on February 27, 1971, the Stags won a third division fixture 6-2 as one of the scorers in the legendary FA Cup tie against West Ham two years earlier, Dudley Roberts, ran riot and netted on four occasions. And since November 1, 1969, Tranmere have only won once at Mansfield, albeit with nine games being drawn, the last four goal-less. Twice, Tranmere have won three in a row at Mansfield, but from the 1950-51 season onwards, the Stags won eight home games in a row to a scoreline of 24 for, just 3 against. And the first-ever league game between the sides was played on April 22, 1933. Then, two goals from Fred Fisher were enough to secure a 2-0 victory. And the biggest home defeat is a 3-0 reverse on October 7, 1967 during a spell of six straight Stags third division defeats. Even then, the then Stags boss Eggleston escaped being sacked. He was later to mastermind the 1968-69 FA Cup run.

At Prenton Park, the Stags were hit for six in 1990 and for five in their first-ever promotion season in 1963, and incredibly for four in the 1976-77 Division Three Championship campaign. But two years later, the Stags sent Tranmere down to the basement with a 2-1 victory in the Stags’ final away game in the 1978-79 Division Three campaign.

Played for both sides: James Alabi, Russell Allen, Paul Black, Junior Brown, Andy Cook, Reg Cropper, Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Alec Gaskell, Verdi Godwin, Alec Gray, Kevin Gray, Chris Greenacre, Kane Hemmings, Robert Hutchinson, David Kelly, Otis Khan, Jim Lumby, Nicky Maynard, Luke O'Neill, Iffy Onoura, Steve Peplow, Frank Perfect, Martin Riley, John Rowland, Jack Roy, Richie Sutton, Rob Taylor, John Thompson, Jock Weir, Keith Welch, Ryan Williams, Billy Yates. Jamie McGuire was on Tranmere's books in 2002-03 as a trainee without playing.

Home stats: P 40, W 19, D 12, L 9, GF 72, GA 37
Away stats: P 40, W 6, D 11, L 23, GF 43, GA 79

Season Home Date Away Date

1932-33 2-0 1933-04-22 0-3 1933-04-10 Div 3 (N)
1933-34 0-0 1933-08-28 2-3 1933-09-04 Div 3 (N)
1934-35 4-2 1935-04-19 0-3 1935-04-22 Div 3 (N)
1935-36 2-3 1935-09-28 2-4 1936-02-01 Div 3 (N)
1936-37 2-3 1937-02-06 2-0 1936-10-03 Div 3 (N)
1947-48 1-3 1947-09-06 1-0 1948-01-17 Div 3 (N)
1948-49 0-0 1949-02-19 0-1 1948-09-25 Div 3 (N)
1949-50 1-1 1950-02-18 1-2 1949-10-01 Div 3 (N)
1950-51 2-1 1951-01-10 1-2 1951-03-07 Div 3 (N)
1951-52 3-0 1952-03-29 1-1 1951-10-11 Div 3 (N)
1952-53 1-0 1952-08-30 0-1 1953-01-03 Div 3 (N)
1953-54 2-0 1953-12-19 5-2 1953-08-22 Div 3 (N)
1954-55 3-1 1954-11-13 1-2 1955-04-02 Div 3 (N)
1955-56 6-0 1956-03-10 0-1 1955-10-29 Div 3 (N)
1956-57 3-0 1956-09-08 1-3 1957-01-12 Div 3 (N)
1957-58 4-1 1958-03-22 2-1 1957-10-12 Div 3 (N)
1958-59 0-2 1959-03-14 2-2 1958-10-25 Div 3 (old)
1959-60 0-2 1960-04-30 2-4 1959-12-12 Div 3 (old)
1961-62 1-2 1961-11-18 0-2 1962-04-07 Div 4 (old)
1962-63 6-1 1962-10-01 1-5 1963-04-22 Div 4 (old)
1967-68 0-3 1967-10-07 1-1 1968-02-23 Div 3 (old)
1968-69 1-1 1968-08-31 1-2 1969-03-21 Div 3 (old)
1969-70 1-2 1969-11-01 1-1 1970-02-28 Div 3 (old)
1970-71 6-2 1971-02-27 1-4 1970-10-30 Div 3 (old)
1971-72 1-1 1972-01-22 2-2 1971-09-27 Div 3 (old)
1976-77 1-1 1976-09-18 0-4 1977-03-21 Div 3 (old)
1978-79 0-0 1978-11-13 2-1 1979-04-30 Div 3 (old)
1980-81 1-1 1980-10-06 0-1 1980-11-03 Div 4 (old)
1981-82 3-0 1982-04-17 2-2 1981-12-05 Div 4 (old)
1982-83 1-1 1983-04-16 0-3 1982-09-06 Div 4 (old)
1983-84 1-0 1983-09-17 0-1 1984-01-30 Div 4 (old)
1984-85 0-0 1984-11-03 0-0 1985-02-22 Div 4 (old)
1985-86 0-0 1986-04-29 2-1 1985-10-22 Div 4 (old)
1989-90 1-0 1990-03-24 1-1 1989-10-16 Div 3 (old)
1990-91 0-2 1991-04-27 2-6 1990-10-22 Div 3 (old)
2002-03 6-1 2002-10-05 1-3 2003-04-29 Div 2
2014-15 1-0 2015-04-14 0-0 2014-10-21 League Two
2018-19 3-0 2019-01-26 0-0 2018-08-21 League Two
2020-21 0-0 2020-09-12 1-1 2021-03-27 League Two
2021-22 2-0 2021-10-30 2-3 2022-03-11 League Two

FA Cup:

1934-35 4-2 1934-12-08 2nd round at Field Mill
1971-72 2-2 1971-12-11 2nd round at Field Mill
1971-72 2-4 1971-12-15 2nd round replay at Prenton Park

League Cup

2013-14 0-2 2013-08-06 1st round at Prenton Park

Time to bounce back now. Come on Mansfield!
Stockholm, July 4, 2008, 15.00 GMT. Good news came, K.H. gone. March 1, 2012. Ground purchased.
Sweden Stag
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