Preview: Mansfield

24 January 2019

Setting the scene…

Tranmere Rovers will aim to return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon when they head to Field Mill for a Sky Bet League Two away fixture at promotion hopefuls Mansfield Town.

Micky Mellon’s men head in to the contest in Nottinghamshire having slipped down to 10th within the fourth-tier standings, four points off the Play-Offs, following on from last Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Swindon Town at Prenton Park.

Saturday’s opponents, Mansfield, currently occupy the final automatic promotion place after a 3-2 win at fellow promotion candidates Colchester United, with CJ Hamilton’s late winner earning three points.

Team news

Striker Ishmael Miller will undergo surgery after sustaining a hamstring injury in last weekend’s game against Swindon Town. Ben Pringle could be in line to make his debut for the Club against Mansfield. Mark Ellis is still struggling with a neck injury.

The Stags’ season so far

Mansfield, managed by former Barnsley, Bury and Swindon boss David Flitcroft, are third in the fourth-tier having enjoyed a fine campaign in Sky Bet League Two so far.

The Bolton-born manager has led the promotion chasing Stags up to third in the division, with Town only behind his former club Bury and leaders Lincoln City in the league table.

Winning 13 of their 28 games played, Mansfield will be looking for a third straight triumph on Saturday to increase the gap on the chasing pack.

Recent victories over Colchester United and Crawley Town have seen Mansfield recover from two defeats on the spin, which came in fixtures against Yeovil Town and in-form Carlisle United.

A win for Flitcroft’s men on Saturday will lift them up to second in the division ahead of the late kick-off between Bury and Lincoln.

One to watch

Tyler Walker leads the way at the top of Mansfield’s goal charts this season, with 17 to his name.

The Nottingham-born 22-year-old, who is the son of former England defender Des Walker, is currently on loan at Field Mill for the season from Nottingham Forest.

Forward Walker, a former England youth international, came through the youth ranks at The City Ground and was given his Forest debut in March 2015 by Dougie Freedman as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Rotherham United, scoring his first goal away at Brentford a month later.

However, he has spent much of his career away from Forest, spending loan stints at Burton Albion, Stevenage, Port Vale and Bolton Wanderers during the past four seasons.

Having made 33 Championship for his parent club, he moved across Nottinghamshire last summer when he joined Mansfield on a season long-loan and has since become the Stags’ leading marksman in front of goal.

Tickets

The SWA have been allocated 837 tickets to be housed in Field Mill’s North Stand for TRFC’s trip to Mansfield Town.

Prices for our trip are as followed:

Adults: £22
Seniors 65+: £18
Young Adult (18-21): £16
Junior (seven-17): £12
Six and under: Free

Disabled supporters will need to be on the higher rate of the DLA, will need to be on the enhanced rate of the PIP. Or have copy of registration documents which certify Registered Blind Status or qualifying documentation from a registered optician.

Young adults must show their ID and are advised to bring it with them on of the day of the match too.

Supporters will be available to purchase on the day. There will be a £2 increase per age category for match day tickets. This will be cash only sales as there is no facility for card payments.

To buy online, click here: https://www.trfctickets.co.uk/

Match coverage

Can’t make it to Rovers’ away game at Mansfield Town on Saturday? Don’t worry as you can keep up with goings on at Field Mill.

You can now sign up to Tranmere Rovers’ iFollow, which allows access to extended highlights and interviews with manager Micky Mellon and a player, after the game.

To sign up, click here

Alternatively, you can follow the action through our social media channels below, with full text coverage during the fixture, followed by a match report.

Twitter: @tranmererovers

Facebook: @trfcofficial

Instagram: @tranmererovers

Match Previews

Match Reports

Mansfield 3-0 Tranmere

26 January 2019

Ten man Tranmere Rovers fell to a 3-0 defeat at Mansfield Town with the hosts’ goals coming from Jorge Grant (2) and Nicky Ajose.

Tranmere went down to ten men when midfielder Ollie Banks was dismissed for two yellow cards in the first half.

Manager Micky Mellon named new recruit Ben Pringle on the bench for TRFC against high-flying Mansfield. Adam Buxton returned to the starting eleven in place of Mark Ellis, whilst Connor Jennings stepped in for the injured Ishmael Miller.

There was little to choose between the two sides in the opening 15 minutes, as both teams grasped an understanding of one another. TRFC donning an all-white kit, operated a 5-3-2 system with James Norwood and Connor Jennings spearheading the Rovers attack.

Tranmere were looking dangerous moving forward as Jake Caprice was finding space on the right channel. However, the best chance of the opening 20 minutes for TRFC came from the opposite flank as Norwood tricked his way past the Mansfield back line, played a dangerous cross into the middle but the ball was hacked away at the last minute.

In the 22nd minute, Mansfield took the lead as Grant curled an excellent free-kick from 21-yards into the top corner after a foul on the edge of the penalty box.

Tranmere didn’t let their heads drop but needed to be cautious as they picked up three yellow cards in the opening 30 minutes, McCullough, McNulty and Banks all going in the book.

And it proved to be the case, as just before the half time whistle, Banks was dismissed for two yellow cards as Rovers had to play the remainder of the match with ten men.

Tranmere were inches away from an equaliser in first half added time as Norwood, the league’s top scorer, headed over Liam Ridehalgh’s corner from the left.

Despite being a man down, Rovers were more than in the contest against Town, as Norwood operated as a lone striker, Jennings dropping into a four-man midfield.

Mansfield were controlling possession with their numerical advantage, but Tranmere were looking a threat when moving forward when the opportunity presented itself.

The near 500 travelling support from the Wirral were staying strong with the team, as they looked for an equalising goal.

However, Mansfield grabbed their second and third goals in quick succession courtesy of Walker and Grant to seal all three points for the hosts.

In between the goals, Pringle was introduced for his debut, replacing skipper McNulty.

The match finished 3-0 to the hosts and Rovers now move on to next weekend’s game at Port Vale.

Tranmere: Davies, Caprice, Monthe, McNulty (Pringle 67), Buxton, Ridehalgh, Banks, Perkins, Jennings, Norwood. Unused subs: Pilling, Mullin, Gilmour, Smith, Ellis, Harris.

Match Reports

Ticket News

Mansfield ticket information

21 January 2019

Tranmere Rovers have been given an initial allocation of 837 in the North Stand for our League Two match against Mansfield Town on Saturday 26th January, 3pm kick-off.

Tickets for the game will go on sale on Monday 14th January with prices as follows...

Adults: £22
Seniors 65+: £18
Young Adult (18-21): £16
Junior (seven-17): £12
Six and under: Free

The admission price for disabled supporters (with a carer) is based upon their relevant age category of adults, concessions and junior, whilst the carer is admitted free of charge.

Young adults must show their ID and are advised to bring it with them on of the day of the match too.

Supporters will be available to purchase on the day. There will be a £2 increase per age category for match day tickets. This will be cash only sales as there is no facility for card payments.

Any prepaid tickets that not collected from us, will be available to collect from the away end programme booth on the day of the match if required.

Postage tickets will go off sale on Tuesday 22nd January at 2pm. All other tickets will go off sale on Friday 25th January, 5pm.

To visit our ticket website, please click here.

Tranmere Rovers Football Club

Standings

Preview: Mansfield

Mansfield 3-0 Tranmere

Mansfield ticket information

Standings

Want to be our new signing?

Get closer to the action this season!