Tranmere Rovers
Super Legends Seal Rovers’ Masters Triumph
By Deadly Submarine
September 7 2009
After the recent misery of the performances of Tranmere’s first team players, Rovers fans were finally given something to shout about last night at Liverpool’s Echo Arena as the legends of our past triumphed in fairytale fashion to become the National Champions of the 2009 Screwfix Masters Tournament……
What a difference a day makes as they say! When the 200-300 or so Rovers fans who made the trip north trudged out of Brunton Park in Carlisle on Saturday afternoon following the awful 3-0 defeat that continued Rovers' worst losing run for quite some time, some were clinging to the hope that perhaps the following days Masters Grand Final may bring success and what a night it turned out to be.
After twice winning the Mersey Masters in their only two appearances in the competition and narrowly missing out in the second round of last year's Grand Final to Manchester City, Rovers already seem to have got the knack of playing in these tournaments and hopes were high that as the home team, Rovers could go better this time around.
The long trip home from Carlisle the night before had brought news of one change to the squad we had been used to with George Santos being replaced by the player who in the eyes of many Rovers fans is the ultimate Rovers legend - Ian Muir! The full Rovers squad was as follows....
John Achterberg (GK)
Shaun Garnett
John McGreal
Ian Nolan
Ged Brannan
Kenny Irons
Eddie Bishop
Stuart Barlow (Capt)
Ian Muir
Ahead of the main events of the evening, Rovers fans were greeted to their first glimpse of the much talked about Kithson Bain who is reportedly set to sign for Rovers sometime this week and the Grenadan striker was joined just after the start by Ian Goodison who received a hero's welcome from the Rovers fans once he was spotted.
With another past Rovers player in Dave Challinor also in attendance in the crowd, the final began with a Midlands Derby as Leicester faced reigning National Champions Wolves with the winner of the game set to face the winner of Tranmere's game against Celtic.
Tranmere's Victorious Masters Squad Celebrate Their Win!
Wolves were comfortable winners with Don Goodman scoring a hat-trick which took him level on goals for the Masters 2009 with Aston Villa's Benito Carbone and therefore just one goal away from becoming this year's top scorer.
The next match saw London Masters Champions QPR take on a Middlesbrough team that on paper looked very strong with a number of players in their squad either still playing or having recently retired including Craig Hignett, Dean Windass and Graham Kavanagh who only 24 hours earlier has helped to mastermind Carlisle's win over Tranmere.
Middlesbrough ran out fairly comfortable winners before the time came for Rovers to take centre stage against Celtic in the third game of the night. With Rovers fans outnumbering the total of all other fans in the Arena put together, the atmosphere stepped up a notch and after a goal-less first half Rovers took the lead early in the second half through captain Stuart Barlow.
Celtic equalised just moments later but with not long left on the clock and after a long spell of possession from Rovers, it was Masters new boy but Rovers legend Ian Muir who chipped the Celtic goalkeeper to seal a 2-1 win and set up a semi-final match against defending champions Wolves. The fourth and final first round match saw Bolton Wanderers thrash Barnsley 8-3 and stake their claim as possible winners by the time the final came around.
So it was Rovers and Wolves who would contest the first semi-final and like Rovers first match of the night it proved once again to be a tight and tactical affair with neither team wanting to give too much away.
To the delight of the home crowd, Rovers took the lead through Ian Nolan and then doubled it thanks to Stuart Barlow once more and although Wolves scored just before half-time to make it 2-1, Rovers survived the second half without conceding again and set up a place in the final of the Grand Final against either Middlesbrough or Bolton. Was the script written for a Tranmere v Bolton final or would Boro have the final say in matters?
As it turned out Bolton made light work of the Middlesbrough team just as they had with Barnsley in the first game to set up their final match against Tranmere.
After a disappointing first half display, Tranmere found themselves 2-0 down by half-time in the final and surely the next goal would prove to be crucial. Thankfully it was Rovers that got it when a superb long cross from Ian Muir was headed in by Kenny Irons to send the Rovers fans mad with delight.
Bolton went 3-1 ahead but Eddie Bishop's finish from a tight angle brought the lead back to just one goal again in the second half.
Then came the turning point of the game that many Rovers fans will look back on for a long time. With Rovers on the attack, a Bolton player appeared to handle the ball in the penalty area but despite the appeals of Rovers fans and players, the referee failed to award Tranmere a penalty and to make matters worse, Bolton went to the other end and scored to make the score 4-2.
Rovers' Captain Stuart Barlow Lifts the Cup Amid the Celebrations
Just as Rovers fans were resigning themselves to being Masters Grand Final runners-up, the referee decided, after more appeals from the Rovers players, to have a look at the incident on a TV replay and to the delight of most of the crowd in the Echo Arena, the goal was disallowed and Rovers were awarded a penalty which was dispatched by Kenny Irons.
In the space of 60 seconds, Rovers had gone from 4-2 down to being level at 3-3 but if we thought that was dramatic, what followed was the stuff that dreams are made of. With the clock ticking down and Bolton on the attack, the Rovers defence got the ball and it was punted long to Ian Muir who thanks to the goal hangers rule was on his own in the other half with just the keeper to beat.
As the Area held its breath, the man who will forever be remembered as a Rovers legend even before this moment, coolly slotted the ball in and wild celebrations followed around the three seated sides of the Arena. Rovers held on for a famous 4-3 win and the fans celebrated and song long into the Liverpool night.
With all that has gone at Tranmere this year so far, the result of this could not have been better scripted with a win in the National Final and a winning goal scored by the Club's greatest ever goalscorer.
For an era of youngsters who have heard the name Ian Muir but never got to see the man play, Sunday September 6th 2009 was the day the legend was re-born in the hearts of Tranmere fans!
Total Tranmere hope to have a picture special on the Masters later this week so stay tuned!!
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07/09/2009 13:17
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