Match Preview: Crewe Alexandra

31 December 2022

Tranmere Rovers look to build on good performances across the festive period, as Micky Mellon’s side visit Crewe Alexandra.

Tranmere Rovers will take short trip to the Mornflake Stadium to face Crewe Alexandra on New Year’s Day, as Micky Mellon’s side look to make it 9 points from 9 over the festive period.

A win for Tranmere could take them up to 7^th place in the table if results go their way, with the points between Christmas and New Year propelling the Whites up the Sky Bet League Two standings.

17^th place Crewe Alexandra come into the game with 2 wins in the last 5 league games, after a 3-0 defeat at home to Carlisle on Thursday evening in the final fixture of 2022.

The Super White Army will be expecting big things from the in-form Rovers side, with the team displaying an excellent performance at Prenton Park on Boxing Day when they beat Doncaster Rovers 3-0, and another good performance at Barrow on Thursday evening – showing exactly what the team are capable of.

Boss, Micky Mellon, expressed his delight at what was described as a performance will ‘desire and fight to win the game’ from his side in the win over Barrow on Thursday.

“To come to a place like Barrow and to perform like we did is very, very good. It’s a credit to the players, especially to go down to ten men – they showed a lot of character, and the supporters rallied them on – it was great to get the winner and to return home with three points.”

One to look forward to though for Crewe fans is that their home form is more successful so far this season than their away form, with 4 wins out of a possible 11 games, as well as 3 draws and 4 losses at the Mornflake Stadium.

Tranmere have already beat Crewe Alexandra in League Two this season, when a goal from Dynel Simeu and a brace from Elliott Nevitt ensured the three points were kept at Prenton Park. Tranmere look to make it two wins from a possible two against the Alex on New Year’s Day.

The Manager: Lee Bell

Crewe Alexandra Manager, Lee Bell, was appointed manager of the club in December, and Sunday’s game will mark one month in charge.

Born in Alsager, Bell started his career aged 14 when he joined Crewe Alexandra’s Academy. He was handed his first professional contract with Crewe in 2002, where he made 53 appearances, scoring 3 goals.

He enjoyed loan spells at Shrewsbury Town and Burton Albion, before signing permanently with the Albion in 2007. He played 12 times for Burton, before joining Mansfield Town for the 2007/08 season.

He later spent 2 years at Macclesfield Town, playing 83 times, scoring 3 goals, and towards the end of his career, returned to four of his former clubs, with further spells at Crewe Alexandra, Burton Albion and Macclesfield Town.

Bell has been involved with Crewe as a coach since retirement in 2015, as Under 18s coach and Under 18s Manager. He was then promoted to Under 23s Manager and was appointed First Team interim manager in November after Morris stepped down from the role.

He was offered the permanent job in December 2022 and since has managed just 3 fixtures, being defeated in both of those games – against Newport County, Carlisle United and Stockport County.

Match Coverage:

Sunday's game will be streamed live on iFollow in both the UK and abroad! Click here to get your match pass now for just £10

You can also 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 reaction from Micky Mellon and a player will follow on our website and YouTube channel.

Match Previews

Match Reports

Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Tranmere Rovers

1 January 2023

Tranmere Rovers fell to defeat at the hands of Crewe Alexandra on New Years Day at the Mornflake Stadium.

A first half wonder strike from Charlie Colkett was the difference between the two sides in a contest that Rovers largely dominated.

Tranmere started on the front foot with a barrage of crosses into dangerous areas from the flanks but Crewe stood firm.

Kieron Morris was the first to test Okonkwo in the Crewe goal when he rifled a right footed shot which was heading for the top corner before the stopper clawed it out to deny an opener.

Just moments later, a cross from the left fell to the feet of Morris inside the box but his snapshot was blocked by one of his own team mates.

On the 15th minute mark, a glorious chance went begging for Rovers as good work from Kane Hemmings resulted in his low cross behind guided wide by Elliott Nevitt inside the six yard box.

Despite all of Tranmere’s possession and chances created, it was Crewe who would break the deadlock. A stray header in the middle of the pitch was picked up by Colkett who unleashed a stunning volley which dipped over Doohan and went just underneath the bar and into the back of the net.

In the second half, Tranmere came forward again. Josh Hawkes’ corner from the left was met by a towering Tom Davies at the back post but his header was somehow cleared off the line at the far post.

With an hour on the clock, Rovers kept chipping away. Kane Hemmings paced down the right and looked to pick out Joel Mumbongo in the box before the Crewe keeper palmed it onto his own defender and watched the ball deflect agonisingly wide.

Another golden opportunity came Tranmere’s way with just over ten minutes remaining. Josh Dacres-Cogley delivered a pinpoint cross to the head of Mumbongo who had a free header from six yards out but he could only find the stand behind the goal.

With Tranmere pushing forward, Crewe began to counter. Dan Agyei got the better of Jordan Turnbull on the right before picking out Joel Tabiner at the back post but his low driven volley went well wide.

Sambou was the next Crewe man to attempt to put the game to bed. He raced through a gaping hole in the Tranmere defence with bodies pushing forward but his one-on-one effort was dragged wide.

Tranmere huffed and puffed but it wasn’t enough to salvage anything from the game despite having more than enough chances to get at least a point.

Tranmere team: Doohan, Dacres-Cogley, Davies, Turnbull, Bristow, Morris, Merrie, O’Connor, Hawkes (Nolan 78’), Nevitt (Mumbongo 58’), Hemmings