For several of the opening games of this season, Rovers were playing pretty poorly and the fans were longing for some better performances.  Whilst today’s performance was not one of Rovers best in recent weeks, they were just about the better side and yet still failed to get three points in a repeat of the game at Oakwell on Tuesday.

 

Just as at Barnsley, Rovers dominated possession but failed to take their first half chances but it looked they would get all three points when Delroy Facey netted his fifth goal in five games with just nine minutes.   However Rovers were caught cold in the second and final minute of injury time allowing captain Peter Clarke, pushed up as a striker in the final stages, to net an unlikely equaliser to the dismay of the 650 travelling Rovers fans.

 

Mike Jackson failed to recover from the injury that saw him limp of in the first half at Barnsley on Tuesday so Brian Little started with the same team that had ended that game, with Carl Tremarco taking his place on the left side of midfield and Roberts reverting back to his natural left-back position.

 

Young goalkeeper Phil Palethorpe was once again on the substitutes bench and was joined by Theo Whitmore who has failed to make the bench in recent weeks.

 

Rovers almost took an early lead after just five minutes when Carl Tremarco was picked out in space by Chris Greenacre on the left hand side and he drilled a low shot that went just wide of Lee Jones’ right hand post.

 

Ten minutes after Tremarco’s own chance, the youngsters low cross into the penalty area was met by Chris Greenacre who fired over the crossbar.  Despite the poor condition of the pitch which was badly cut-up, Rovers continued to create chances with the next two falling to Steven Jennings and then the impressive Simon Francis but both chances were saved.

 

After 20 minutes, Chris Greenacre and Dany Coid collided in a 50/50 challenge that led to both players being substituted just two minutes later.  Greenacre was replaced by Steve  Davies who had scored a hat-trick for Rovers Reserves against Blackpool in midweek.

 

On 24 minutes, Tranmere’s nemesis of recent years, John Murphy broke clear of the Rovers defence and looked set to continue his great run of scoring against Rovers but Gareth Roberts somehow caught him up and put in an excellent full stretch tackle to poke the ball back to Steve Wilson.

 

Ian Goodison blocked a Keigan Parker shot before Delroy Facey wasted a good chance on the half hour mark.  The striker was set clear on the right by Mark Rankine and when it looked like a cross may have been the better option, Facey tried a shot from a tight angle which went high over the crossbar.

 

Davies seemed to become Rovers main threat and he had three chances as the half wore on as well as also freeing Delroy Facey whose shot was deflected for a corner.  Sadly Rovers could not make their possession count as the half ended goalless.  For the second time in five days, Rovers hosts left the field to a chorus of boos.

 

Blackpool began the second half a little stronger and had their first real goal chance of the game when Harkins fired wide in the opening couple of minutes.  The Seasiders followed up that chance with two more, with John Murphy heading over after 51 minutes and then Ian Goodison looked to have seen off a dangerous attack but miskicked on the edge of the penalty area.  This allowed Kiegan Parker some space but just as he pulled the trigger his shot was excellently blocked by Simon Francis.

 

Steve Davies broke clear on a couple occasions but the chances ended only in corners rather than goals and Steven Jennings had a shot that was easily gathered by Lee Jones in the Tangerines goal.

 

On 68 minutes, Steve Wilson was lucky to receive just a yellow card as he was judged to have handled outside his penalty area and the resulting free kick from Parker sailed wide.

 

Just when the game looked like it was heading for a 0-0 draw, which would have possibly been a fair result given the balance of the second half, Rovers finally took the lead with just nine minutes remaining.  It was Simon Francis who played an excellent through ball to Delroy Facey and although Steve Davies was offside on the far side, he was not interfering with play and this allowed Facey to gallop forward and slot the ball past Jones into the far corner.

 

Immediately after the goal, Steve Davies was taken off and replaced by Calvin Zola as Rovers looked to hold on for all three points.  At Bloomfield Road last season, Rovers successfully held on to a lead for 52 minutes after Ian Goodison had scored but this time round they only had to hold on for eleven minutes including stoppage time but they failed.

 

Calvin Zola lost possession in the Blackpool half when he only really needed to keep hold of the ball for a few more seconds.  The result was a long ball forward that left the Rovers defence and Steve Wilson is disarray as defender and captain Peter Clarke, pushed up into attack after Rovers had scored, slotted home at the third attempt to hand Blackpool an unlikely point.

 

So once again, we find ourselves reporting that Rovers were ’unlucky’ not to get three points but the fact remains that the players are not doing enough to get the luck they need to put together a run of wins.  Next up is Brentford at home next Saturday (December 17^th) as Rovers will look to begin what they hope will be a successful festive season that will see them climb away from trouble.

 

Tranmere Man of the Match

 

Ian Sharps:  Although Mark Rankine followed up his Man of the Match performance at Oakwell on Tuesday night with another hard working performance today, Ian Sharps was solid at the back and excellent in his distribution to the midfield.

Vote for your Man of the Match by Clicking HERE (Poll Closes at 9pm on Sunday December 11^th)

 

 

The Team Line-Ups

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Blackpool: Jones, Southern, Clarke, Parker, Murphy (Wright 77), Coid (Butler 22), Edwards, Warrindar, Morris, Harkins, Wilcox (Wilkes 63).

           

Substitutes Not Used: Pogliacomi, Blinkhorn.

          

Tranmere Rovers:  Wilson, Francis, Sharps, Goodison, Roberts, Tremarco, Jennings, Rankine, Harrison, Facey, Greenacre (Davies 21, Zola 82).

           

Substitutes Not Used: Palethorpe, Whitmore, Aiston.

           

Booked: Harkins (Blackpool) and Wilson (Tranmere)

 

Referee – Tony Bates (Staffordshire)

 

The Gaffer’s Verdict…

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Brian Little’s View of the Match (Speaking to the Official Website)…..

 

"The whole game we were in charge. The last goal was a freak. The lad's control was fantastic. If that's a mistake from our point of view then I can't see where it was. You can't criticise Calvin for losing the ball 70 yards from goal.”

     

"I thought we were unlucky. I hate to keep saying that, but it has been one of those days where nothing has gone right for us. We were the better team, the stronger team and should have won the game."

     

"We're getting younger each week and we're encouraging them to all learn. We had two young strikers today when Chris [Greenacre] went off we had good half chances. When Delroy scored, like most people in the ground, we thought that was it.”

     

"We are doing better, and when you're at the bottom of the table winning games is harder. Last season we had lots of games when we didn't play great but won. You get used to winning and carry on doing it.”

     

"There are lots of things that are positives from today, but it's a massive disappointment that we didn't win. If we keep playing like that eventually we will win more games than we will lose."

       

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