County can move into the top half of the season for the first time tomorrow night, as we travel to Tranmere Rovers looking for a fourth straight win in League Two.
Saturday’s comfortable 3-0 win against Sutton United at Edgeley Park saw Dave Challinor’s side make it five wins in six in all competitions, with five clean sheets to go with it, as we climbed above Sutton and Crewe Alexandra into 14th place. The gap to the play-off places now stands at just six points.
With just one other game taking place on Tuesday night, another three points away from home would see us move above Walsall and Grimsby into the top half, whilst a win by two or more goals would also see us edge ahead of Tranmere.
Rovers though will be looking for a win that could take them into the play-off places, as they look to bounce back from a rare home defeat against Carlisle at the weekend – their first loss in eight league games.
Our Opponents:
When this game was originally due to be played back in September, before the sad passing of Her Late Majesty, both these sides were locked on seven points from their opening seven games following underwhelming starts to the new season.
Since then, however, both have undergone impressive turnarounds and will now be eyeing a potential play-off push between now and the end of the season.
Although Micky Mellon’s side, who missed out on the play-offs by just two points last season, lost their next game at home to Bradford, they followed that up with five straight league wins without conceding a goal to catapult themselves into the top six.
That run came to an end with successive 1-1 draws against struggling Harrogate Town and Rochdale, whilst the setback of that defeat to Paul Simpson’s Carlisle on Saturday has seen them drop back down to 11th.
On Tuesday night, they will be looking to recapture the home form that served them so well last season – the 51 points they picked up at Prenton Park was the best home record in League Two in 2021/22, but that loss to Carlisle was their third home defeat already this campaign.
One to Watch:
23-year-old midfielder Josh Hawkes spent the first-half of last season on loan at Prenton Park from Sunderland and enjoyed a successful breakthrough season in the EFL, making 35 appearances in League Two and scoring six times before being recalled by his parent Club in January.
It was enough to convince Mickey Mellon to make the move permanent over the Summer; the former Hartlepool man signed on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Tranmere’s recent upturn in form coincided with Hawkes returning to the starting XI, and he has scored three goals in 15 appearances so far this season.
Match Stats:
- This will be the first league meeting between the two sides since the 2009/10 season in League One. County won 1-0 at Prenton Park in October thanks to a Carl Baker penalty, but lost the reverse fixture 3-0 at Edgeley Park on the final day of the season.
- Saturday’s 3-0 win against Sutton was County’s biggest win in the Football League since beating Hereford United 4-1 in January 2009, whilst in League One.
- County last won three successive away games in the Football League in 2007/08, during an incredible run of eight straight wins on the road.
