VENUE #81 TRANMERE ROVERS Prenton Park

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE

Saturday 26th November 2016

Prenton Park, Birkenhead

Ground Capaity:-  16,587

Kick Off:-  15:00

Entry Fee:-  

Programme:-  

Venue #81

     Using my usual mode of travel the train I found that Rock Ferry station was the nearer to the ground so this is where I alighted.  This station is about 20 minutes away from Prenton park by foot and this I believe is the best way to achieve my destination.  As you leave the station turn right along Bedford road and keep straight up this road for some distance crossing the B5149 junction until you come to an island then turn right again onto Bebington road and continue till you reach a elongated island, keep on straight across until you reach the Sportsman pub on the left hand side and turn left onto Prenton road and the ground is a few hundred yards up this road on the left hand side.
     Today was bitterly cold with a freezing fog descending and making it very difficult to see long distances in certain places but the sun managed to brake through in Birkenhead and make this game playable which was a relief for myself as it meant that I didn't have to make this journey again later on in the season.

     Prenton park was purposely built in 1912 to re-house Rovers when their previous ground occupied land that was needed for housing and a new school.

     The stadium has seen many changes in the years since then mainly due to decay and legislation.  The Main stand was erected in 1968 at a cost of £80,000 with the Tranmere suit being added 20 years later with further bars and executive suits.  The Paddock and cowshed terracing was concreted at the end of the 70's but in the light of the Bradford City Valley Parade tragedy in 1985 health and safety legislation meant that the capacity of Prenton Park was cut from 18,000 to 8,000.

     The biggest change of all came in the 1994-95 season when the Taylor report suggested that the top two English divisions should not allow standing spectators and so the club re-developed the remaining three sides of the stadium, Borough road, the New Kop and the Cowshed became all seated accommodation at a cost of just over £3 million and leaves the ground as we find it today with a new capacity of 16 and a half thousand.


     Today's Visitors:  TORQUAY UNITED  before this game were 16th in the league table and only 5 points away from the bottom 4.  The Gulls are still suffering with financial difficulties which took another blow last year with the departure of lottery winning owner Thea Bristow.  Relegated from league 2 two seasons ago Torquay are finding it hard to settle in to the National league let alone make an impact on promotion back into the football league.  I have seen the Gulls play at least a couple of times at Walsall's old Fellows Park ground, they've always been a part of the football league as far as I'm concerned and would be a shame to see their decline continue any further. 

The Main Stand

     The main stand is the oldest part of the inertia of Prenton park, two tiered fully seated and covered holding almost 6,000 people the stand is split up into 3 sections, the lower tier better known as Bebington End paddock has a capacity of 1,150 and the Town End paddock which holds 1,209.  Either side of the half way line the upper tier is simply known as the Main stand and holds 3,598 spectators.  This stand houses a VIP area, Directors box, the Tranmere suit, Dixie Dean suit, the Bunny Bell bar and the Dave Russell restaurant.  This structure is showing it's age and is getting more and more expensive to maintain.  there are a couple of supporting pillars which, if unfortunately placed, will restrict your view.  Ticket purchases and collections and club shop are situated near the entrances to this stand.

The John King stand

     Built 20 years ago and formally known as the Borough Road stand this stand was renamed in 2002 in recognition of Tranmere's former manger John King who died in March this year.  Runs alongside the Borough Road on the opposite side of the pitch to the Main stand.  It is a small low-rise stand fully covered and seated which holds 2,414 spectators.

The Kop

     The Bebington kop is a large single tiered all seated and fully covered stand which dwarfs the rest of the stands at Prenton Park it holds 5,696 people which is less than the combined total of the Main stand although it looks a lot bigger.  This stand replaced terracing which was also known as the kop and used to house both home and away supporters partitioned down the middle but since the year 2000 has been prominently home support only

The Cowshed

     This is a single tiered all seated and fully covered stand holding 2,500 spectators with a peculiar look to it as one side as more seats than the other giving a slanted effect due to the fact it was built to coincide with Prenton Road West which runs behind it.  This stand now holds away fans since the Kop was given back to the home faithful at the start of the millennium.  

TRANMERE ... 2   TORQUAY ... 1

     Before this game kicked off you would have put money on Tranmere being the victors with them holding fifth place in the table were as their opponents Torquay are in the lower regions of the league battling to keep clear of the relegation zone.

     Both teams started brightly with quick one touch football and using every inch of the pitch it was quite pleasant to watch and it didn't take long before the first goal arrived.  twelve minutes on the clock and Andy Mangan received the ball from the left in the centre of the Torquay penalty area and slotted the ball passed keeper Brendan Moore for the first goal.

   Both sides had chances further into the half Kieffer Moore for Torquay heading into the side netting and Mangan for Rovers was clean through but scuffed his shot wide of the goal.  Just before half time Ben Tollitt fired a shot which was well saved by Moore and left the half time score line as Tranmere ... 1   Torquay ... 0.

     In the second minute of the second half the home team doubled their lead when that man Mangan who received the ball from  Andy Cook on the right hand side of the penalty area and smashed the ball into the net through the keepers legs.

     After that it was all Tranmere Torquay's fete seamed sealed and in the 56th minute Ritchie Sutton almost made it three smashing the ball against the visitors crossbar and you just couldn't see Torquay getting back into this game.

     In the 63rd minute Andy Mangan went off to applause from the home faithful a sign of we'll keep what we've got from manager Micky Mellon but 2 minutes later he may have wished he'd kept the striker on the pitch as the ball was pumped high into the Tranmere penalty area and Lee Vaughan instead of putting the ball into row z tried to turn the ball away from goal going back from where he came but run smack bang into Daniel Sparkes who took the ball off the defender and slotted it into the back of the net.

     Three minutes from time Lee vaughan was brought down in the Torquay penalty area and the ref pointed to the spot.  Andy Cook stepped up to take the penalty but fired wide of the goal.  This led to a nervy finish for the home side but they managed to hold on to the three points.  Not as cut and dried as one thought prior to the game.

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