February Update:
FA Cup 4th Round
Watford 0-5 Tranmere
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A fantastic performance. The amount of goals we scored is really pleasing and all without our Attacking Duo of McCarthy and Gonzalez. The new boy Pelletier got himself a hattrick which is quite a rarity for Centre Backs , he’s had a good start to his Tranmere career. Ihar Shytau made his way back into the first team , he’s been out with a injury for awhile and i’m glad to get some experience to help with the youth in the backline. Thomas Reilly proved that he is just as good as McCarthy for banging in the goals as he scores yet another goal to his tally which brings him up to 11. Another a disappointing show in the League Cup i’m glad to proceed into the next round of this prestigious trophy.
Barclays Premier League:
Sheffield United 1-1 Tranmere
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Definitely a relegation battle as 18
th plays 19
th in this fixture. We started off fairly well , immediately getting a foothold in the game. We created a few chances in the first half but nothing solid. The Blades on the other hand , had plenty of chances in the first half but our rock solid defence and some good goalkeeping kept the score level going into Half-time. Thomas Reilly again added to his goal tally with a lovely finish after some good play by The Rovers midfield. The team are starting to gel well together and a good run of form could be on it’s way. We’re due a bit of luck this season.
Tranmere 2-1 Birmingham
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A really good show against another relegation rival. We were ontop of them for the duration of the game , really pilling the pressure on them in the first half but they held out well until the Mid-way interval. I threw on McCarthy during the break and he showed his skill to outclass the Birmingham defence 3 minutes into the second half and then again 9 minutes later. Things quieted down after that and we just tried to keep possession and let Birmingham do the pressurising. Delighted with the 3 points , getting closer to that vital 17
th position.
Arsenal 0-1 Tranmere
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What a magnificent performance against the Gunners! We didn’t look like a team fighting relegation and we really brought the fight to the Emirates Stadium. It was an entertaining first half with end to end football , Arsenal having the better chances but nothing of great importance. As soon as the second half had come underway it was a different story. We got on top then and got a good chunk of the possession and created many chances and were unlucky not to have the back of the net. We eventually got the vital goal 20minutes into the second half and there was no surprise as to who had scored it. The Young Welshmen continues his great return to the first team and wins the team an invaluable win.
FA Cup 5th Round
Everton 3-1 Tranmere
I wasn’t willing to risk my first team members again, afraid of them picking up injuries so i played a second string team again. Despite the weak team , we managed to dominate the entire game. We held the possession for most of the time but we couldn’t do much with it as you can see in the stats. With 59% of the possession we only managed to make 6 attempts which is pretty poor. Everton were hard to get by. On the other hand , we made a lot of mistakes. The inexperience began to show as Everton start their counter attacks. Ryan Shawcross landed in our Penalty area twice to nod in too crosses after a brilliant counter attacks in the first half. Then 6 minutes from time Everton put the game to bed with another great counter attack finished off by Yannis Tafer.
Barclays Premier League:
Tranmere 1-2 Fulham
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I’ve been looking forward to this fixture since the new year, but unfortunately it didn’t go to plan. We didn’t exactly play bad but we definitely didn’t deserve anything out of the match. We had just as much possession as Fulham , but Fulham showed their experience at this stage , by creating more chances by continuing to frustrate us and then pounce , something we were doing all of last season but forgot to apply it this season. Have they been stealing my ideas?
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A fairly good month , we got a few wins under our belt. A fantastic win at the Emirates was unbelievable and sent the Morale sky high. Hopefully we can keep this up. I’m not too disappointed with the FA Cup exit , i didn’t really expect us to do that much in it but i am slightly annoyed at the loss to Fulham , i wanted to get a win over them to get some revenge, nonetheless a fairly successful month as we are edging closer to safety which is 3 points from our grasp.
Players of the month:
Ihar Shytau
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The Belarusian veteran showed his experience this month , helping the team to it’s first run of good form this season. He’s nearing the end of his career and is losing a bit of pace but this didn’t stop him in racking up some good performances with an Average rating of 7.25 over the last 5 games!