Match Preview: Walsall

12 April 2021

It’s another game on the road for Rovers on Tuesday night with a trip to the Banks’ Stadium to take on Walsall in a 7pm kick off.

This game comes after a stalemate against Scunthorpe at the weekend despite a number of good chances for Tranmere. Keith Hill’s men occupy the 4th position in League Two on 65 points from 40 games.

Walsall, managed by Head Coach Brian Dutton, have been very hard to beat in the last six games and last time out they beat Forest Green Rovers at home, making them unbeaten in 5. The Saddlers are in 20th position in the division.

The reverse fixture was a 3-1 win for Walsall at Prenton Park.

Team News

Jay Spearing’s fitness will continue to be assessed to determine if he will play any part in this fixture.

James Vaughan and Scott Davies remain sidelined with their respective injuries.

Match officials

Referee: Ollie Yates

Assistant Referees: Christopher Kidd and Grant Taylor

Fourth official: Simon Shaw

One to watch

Defender, James Clarke.

The experienced defender is captain of the Saddlers and a leader of the defensive line for Brian Dutton's side.

Clarke started his career at Oxford United who were then a Conference side. He then spent three years at neighbours Oxford City, making over 150 appearances for The Hoops.

It was at Bristol Rovers that he gained his first real taste of the Football League and it was a successful season. The Gas secured a second consecutive promotion that year with Clarke making 40 appearances that season.

Former Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke persuaded the defender to join up with him at Walsall in the summer of 2019.

The Walsall defence has been relatively assured of late with Clarke at the heart of the defence, keeping three clean sheets in the last five.

Match coverage

The game will be streamed live on iFollow and match passes are on sale for just £10. CLICK HERE to get your match pass.

The TRFC radio team of Phill Wilkinson and Adam Siddorn will be in place at the Banks’ Stadium to provide live updates on proceedings.

Please note season ticket holders do not automatically receive away games on their iFollow accounts and will have to pay for this fixture.

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

Report: Walsall 1-0 Tranmere

13 April 2021

A second half strike from Emmanuel Osadebe secured a 1-0 win for Walsall against ten man Tranmere Rovers.

The midfielder gave Walsall the lead midway through the second period, and soon after, Jay Spearing was sent off for two yellow cards in a tough night for the visitors.

Striker David Nugent and the returning Spearing came into the starting line up, in place of Danny Lloyd and Lee O’Connor. Top goal scorer James Vaughan was named on the bench by boss Keith Hill.

Rovers made a bright start at the Banks’s Stadium, with Kaiyne Woolery and Peter Clarke both having opportunities in the first ten minutes.

Rovers gave the ball away inside their own half, allowing Josh Gordon sight on goal as he stung the palms of Joe Murphy.

Moments later, an excellent cross field pass from Clarke picked out the run from the left by Feeney, and his touch took the ball away from his marker, but he was unable to hit the target.

A well worked move on the right hand side involving Feeney and Nugent resulted in Ali Crawford finding space in the Walsall penalty area but his shot crashed against the side netting.

Rovers dominated the play but with Walsall causing little concern but the score remained 0-0 going into half time.

A world class save from Joe Murphy kick started the second half, as he got a fingertip to a close-range header, a certain goal but the former Irish international was on hand to make the stop.

A double change for Tranmere occurred just after the hour mark as O’Connor and Lloyd were both introduced for Crawford and Woolery.

In the 67th minute, Vaughan was brought on in place of Nugent with just under half of the second period to play.

However, it was the hosts that took the lead in the 69th minute with a wonder strike from the edge of the penalty box by Osadebe.

Tranmere’s night got even harder when Spearing was dismissed for a second yellow card after a late foul with just over 16 minutes remaining.

Murphy made another fine save from a free-kick 30-yards from goal as Tranmere remained a goal behind with just ten minutes to go.

Former Walsall man Keiron Morris came on for Feeney with just over ten minutes to go but unfortunately for Rovers, they couldn't find a way back into the contest and the score finished 1-0 to the hosts.

Tranmere: Murphy, Khan, Clarke, Monthe, MacDonald, Spearing, Lewis, Crawford (O’Connor), Feeney (Morris 79), Woolery (Lloyd 61), Nugent (Vaughan 67). Unused subs: Jones, Ridehalgh, Ray

Our next game will be this weekend, Saturday 17 April, when we play host to Salford City, 12.30pm kick-off. The match will be available to watch live on iFollow for just £10, CLICK HERE to subscribe.

The match report is sponsored by MAIN.