Rovers Exit Cup After Shoot-Out

Oldham Athletic  1  -   1  Tranmere Rovers (AET Oldham win 5-4 on Penalties)

 Eyres 35                                   Hall  3

Attendance:  4069

In the end it all came down to five shots each from 12 yards but it had all begun so promisingly for Tranmere as they took an early lead and then withstood late extra-time pressure before once again losing on penalties in a cup competition.  In the end the irony was that Rovers’ designated penalty taker this season, Ryan Taylor was the only player to miss his kick.  It is also ironic that one of the comedy moments of the evening prior to the match also involved a penalty by Oldham Mascot Chaddy the Owl.  Taking a penalty in an open goal after a run up that took the whole length of the pitch, he blasted his kick high into the Oldham fans behind the goal much to the delight of the travelling Superwhite Army.

Tranmere and their travelling fans got a dream start after just three minutes when a lightening move from box to box ended with Paul Hall scoring with a little help from Oldham keeper Les Pogliacomi.  Just after the hour it was the turn of Rovers keeper Russell Howarth to make an error that allowed veteran David Eyres to score into an empty goal from 45 yards.  Chances still came after that and as the game eventually moved into extra time, both sides could have won it before Ryan Taylor’s missed spot kick in the shootout sealed Tranmere’s fate.

Brian Little made one change to the team that started the 2-1 over Walsall on Saturday, replacing Theo Whitmore with Paul Hall in midfield.  Little also opted to play Linwood rather than Ian Sharps who was available again after suspension, though this decision may have been made with Saturday’s game at Luton in mind.  The possibly departing Gary Jones was again on the bench along with Beresford, Whitmore, Dadi and Jennings.

As far as goal chances were concerned, barely anything had happened at either end by the time Tranmere took an early lead in the third minute after a lightening quick move.  As Rovers defended on the left side of their own penalty area, Hume picked up the ball about 6 yards from the touchline and hoofed a long ball up field which was well controlled by Hall with his back to goal.  He quickly laid the ball off to the right to Taylor who was in a lot of space and promptly set off on a run into the penalty area.  Taylor unleashed an angled shot which Oldham goalkeeper Pogliacomi spilt straight to the inrushing Paul Hall who made no mistake from a couple of yards.

Oldham almost replied a few minutes later but one captain denied the other as Mike Jackson cleared Will Haining’s header off the line.  As neither side created many clear cut chances the game settled into something of a lull with genuine chances few and far between.  The only real action of note in this spell was the departure of Oldham’s Scott Vernon through injury to be replaced by John Eyre.  The fact that the only goal of the game had come partially as the result of an error suggested that goals would be sparse in this game. 

This was proven when Oldham’s equaliser came in the 35 minute from another slip, this time by Tranmere keeper Russell Howarth.  Howarth ran out to the right hand corner of his box to kick the ball clear under pressure which he did but he fell to the ground.  Possibly thinking he may get a free-kick, Howarth was slow to react and in the meantime the ball had fallen to David Eyres some 45 yards out and he lobbed the ball into the goal over Mike Jackson and least one other Tranmere defender on the goal line.  The reaction of the Rovers fans behind Howarth’s was embarrassing and frankly unnecessary as they began chants of John Achterberg’s name in response to Howarth’s error.  This seemed to visibly bother Russell at one point and could only have served to further dent what is already a shaken confidence.

Brian Little made two changes at half time bringing on Steven Jennings and Eugene Dadi as straight swaps for Mark Rankine and Chris Dagnall.  The second half was exciting at times but again there were very few clear cut chances with Tranmere perhaps having the best of them through a Goodison strike that was well saved at close range and a Dadi header. Rover’s were within a whisker of booking a place in the area final of the LDV Vans with around five minutes left when Jennings cut into the area and fired a shot back off the bar.

So it was extra time and particularly in the second period of it, Rovers seemed under constant pressure from Oldham with the odd breakaway of their own.  Howarth kept Tranmere in the match on several occasions on the night and especially in extra time with at least three decent saves.  Tranmere fans had been chanting the name of Theo Whitmore since the hour mark of the game and he finally appeared near the start of the second extra period, replacing Paul Hall.  The breakthrough though did not come and it was to be another penalty heartache for Tranmere as shown below:

Tranmere             Hume                Scored             1-0

Oldham                Eyre                 Scored              1-1

Tranmere             Roberts             Scored             2-1

Oldham             Haining                 Scored             2-2

Tranmere             Taylor               Missed              2-2

Oldham             Betsy                  Scored             2-3

Tranmere            Jennings           Scored             3-3

Oldham             Kilkenny             Scored             4-3

Tranmere            Dadi                 Scored             4-4

Oldham             Bruce               Scored             4-5

All in all an entertaining night with the only other downside apart from going out of the Cup being that the extra 30 minutes may have an effect on the Players for the big game at Luton on Saturday.  I certainly feel that no Tranmere player played particularly well or badly on the night but it was just one of those nights and it unfortunately had to end with a complete lottery.

My Man of the Match:

Ryan Taylor – Again difficult to pick out anybody but Taylor was always involved and always looked dangerous.

The Teams:

Oldham: Pogliacomi, Bruce, Haining, D. Hall (Lomax 84), Griffin, Croft, Hughes, Vernon (Eyre 26), Eyres (C. Hall 111), Kilkenny, Betsy.

Subs Not Used: Appleby, Treacy

Tranmere: Howarth. Taylor, Goodison, Linwood, Jackson, Roberts, Rankine (Jennings 46), Harrison, Hall (Whitmore 109), Dagnall (Dadi 46), Hume.

Subs Not Used: Jones, Beresford

Bookings – Taylor, Goodison

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