Prenton vs. Douglas by Gethin Taylor

Douglas have the privilege these weekend of travelling to Prenton, home of probably one of the U.K.s premier football teams, Tranmere Rovers. Unfortunately though playing Prenton is not likely to be a stroll in the park as last week Prenton hammered Newton Le Willows but probably still more than enjoyable than watching Tranmere to scrap a win considering the form they are in.  

  Last season Douglas had two enjoyable encounters with Prenton winning at home but losing away and generally over the seasons the two sides have been fairly evenly matched. They are also a hospitable club and the two teams have generally got on well. This is a fixture the club have been looking forward to and when the fixture lists were published for the season appeared on paper to be possibly the easiest of Douglas’s four opening games. However it has not panned out like that as Prenton have shown some good form loosing only once this season in all competitions and that was to the undefeated Manchester Wanderers.

  Douglas though will not travel without hope as they have won two of their opening three matches and could have won the third. These were all against some of the expected better sides in the division and to teams who have beaten Douglas in the past so Douglas are presently very pleased with their current position. In the tight their pack is strong even in the continuing absence of captain Andy Malpass who appears to have longer holidays that I have had jobs and relationships in the past. The pack will be further strengthened this week by the return of Pete Moorhouse although they will miss the tackling and aggression of Seb Jeanneau (a name I have finally spelt right!) who probably has been Douglas’s player of the season so far.

  Although their pack has plenty of strength in depth and can probably match any other eight in the league the backs are fairly dependent on their main guys. Last week with Gwyn Davies, Gareth Leather, Ben Scott and Lloyd Jones all unavailable for selection and John Hill and Ben Manuja carrying injuries cover was scarce. With Prenton showing good form Douglas will hope at least four of these can make the starting line up on Saturday.

  Douglas have in patches played well this season especially in defence although in attack they have yet to really catch fire. Provided Douglas can put out a reasonably first choice back line then they have the ability to win. Unlike their neighbours up the road Douglas’s away form in the last couple of years has been good and two years ago they did beat Prenton so they can win on their travels. However it will be a tall order and I would have to go for a home win but I would happily be proved wrong even if it does blow my 100% tipping record for this season.