Saturday sees us head to Prenton Park for the 52nd time in all competitions and we will be looking to improve on our record there as we have won just 11 times in our previous visits.
Ironically, our first trip, in the Second Division of the Lancashire Combination in September 1910, produced our equal biggest win - a 4-0 triumph, with goals coming from Arthur Gallagher, Benny Ives, Callaghan and an O’Connor own goal.
Our heaviest defeat at Prenton Park came on New Year’s Day 1927 when we lost 7-2, with consolation goals from Alex Bosomworth and Charlie Tilbrook. That loss was part of a truly miserable run which had started two seasons earlier; we lost eight successive games on the Wirrall, conceding 37 goals in the process, before ending the sequence with a 3-1 win in October 1933 with goals from Frank Allen (2) and Ralph Hills.
After that win, we were to go another 15 trips to Prenton Park in various competitions without tasting victory again. However, in April 1955 we won 4-0 there thanks to a Jim Collins double and further goals from John Armstrong and Ronnie Codd.
Rovers and ourselves won promotion to Division Three at the end of the 1966/67 season and around that time we enjoyed a four-match unbeaten run there. It began with a 2-1 win in April 1966 with goals from Jim Mulholland and Mick Hartland and was followed by a victory and a draw before, in September 1968 under Colin Appleton, we triumphed 3-0 with goals from Jim Mulvaney (2) and Peter Bebbington.
During Rovers’ time in the National League, we lost three of our four games at Prenton Park, including one in the FA Trophy. Our only win came in October 2015, and it was a real surprise following a 5-0 hammering at Bromley three days earlier. We ran out 1-0 winners with a strike from Andy Haworth proving the difference. The only survivor from that team in the squad right now is goalkeeper Joel Dixon.
Let’s hope we can record win number 12 twelve on Saturday!