Tranmere Will Go No More A-Roving
Morecambe Football Club hosted Tranmere Rovers for the second leg of their League Two Play-Off Semi-Final at lunchtime today with a realistic hope of reaching Wembley for the final on May 31st. Derek Adams and his men implemented a Master Plan on how to play on the break and win with a resolute and highly disciplined performance last Thursday evening in the first leg. They did this against a Rovers team who basically ran out of steam and fell back on a Plan B of pretty naked aggression as the tie wore on. Tranmere boss Ian Dawes reflected on the game once it had finished after his team had been beaten 1-2 in these terms:
“We’re still in the tie of course, but we do have to defend set-plays better in the second half. We just needed to step it up a bit at times, while Morecambe stagnated the game when they needed to. The mentality was good from our lads, but that second goal did come at a really bad time for us. Morecambe are there; they do the job – we just have to make sure we don’t fall into what they want. They are at their most threatening when you’ve got the ball because all they look to do is counter-attack so what we’ve got to do is get the balance of attack and defence right. Going into the second leg, I think we’ve just got to push players a little higher up the pitch and get into more threatening areas. We still have to be patient with the ball because at the end of the day what they want is for you to just go long and give it them back. We’ve got to be patient but we’ve got to move it with a bit more purpose. “
Morecambe boss Derek Adams had this to say after his side’s victory:
“It was a terrific game; a good advert for League Two football. We’re obviously delighted to get the win away from home; it was never going to be easy here. Tranmere have changed their manager, they had almost 4,000 fans in here tonight and it’s a difficult venue to come to anyway. They started the game really well, as we expected they would, but we dealt with that threat so well. Tranmere had a lot of the ball from the centre halves which we allowed and we kept a very good shape in the second half especially. We knew if we could frustrate them, we would get opportunities. Overall, to come here in front of the home supporters and come away with a two-one win is a fantastic result for us tonight but as we know it’s only the first leg.”
It’s been blustery and wet at time in North Lancashire today. But the rain held-off most of the time this afternoon as Morecambe played in front of their own supporters for the first and last time this season. The team in the red strip played far more assertively than they had done on Merseyside last week right from the off. In the first minute, Liam McAlinden combined well with Toumani Diagouraga on the left only for Liam Gibson to make a mess with the final cross as he overlapped on the left wing. Four minutes later, there was a bit of controversy as visiting goalkeeper Joe Murphy made a legitimate interception outside his area but when the ball went loose, it looked as if Tranmere Captain Peter Clarke handled it. But Referee Thomas Bramall didn’t agree and that’s all that matters. Eight minutes had been played when the visitors came within the width of the cross bar of equalising on aggregate when James Vaughan headed powerfully against the woodwork for the visitors. But Morecambe quickly worked the ball down the pitch; McAlinden played a perfect pass to Aaron Wildig in the centre of the field and Aaron took one touch to control it and another to place a possibly scuffed shot out of reach of the pink-clad man in the opposition net. It was a beautifully-worked goal which put the Shrimps into a commanding position in the tie and they continued to boss the play until half time. After fourteen minutes, Carlos Mendes-Gomes played in Morecambe’s goal-scorer on the right flank only for his low cross into the danger area to be hacked away by the Rovers’ defence. There were a few more half chances for the hosts such as when Carlos caused the visiting goalkeeper to drop the ball after shooting from about thirty-five yards after 38 minutes. In the meantime, the only thing Tranmere seemed to offer going forward were a succession of fouls by a clearly pumped-up Vaughan. Ryan Cooney had an outstanding half against Tranmere’s danger man from the first leg, Corey Blackett-Taylor, who offered little today and was substituted in the second half.
Ian Dawes shook things up at half time, bringing on two strikers in the shape of David Nugent and Otis Khan. For the first time in the game, Rovers actually started to look like they might get back into the match. Having said that, the physical side of their play was still always apparent, with Ryan Cooney on the end of a number of bad fouls; the worst of them being by Kieron Morris. Man Mountain Manny Monthe was also booked for pulling Cole Stockton crudely backwards by his shirt and Vaughan constantly put his foot in where it hurts. He kicked Morecambe goalkeeper Kyle Letheren in the head after 79 minutes as the big Welshman dived at his feet at a time when he had already been booked: if Letheren had made a meal of it, he would have been lucky to stay on the pitch. But by this time, the Tranmere Number Nine had already scored his first ever goal against the Shrimps for the visitors. In the fifty-second minute, Nugent headed a corner from the Tranmere left goalwards only for Vaughan to bundle the ball home from what TV replays showed was an offside position. After this, Morecambe played mostly on the back foot. But we must go back to Manager Dawes’ pre-match words as we think about this: `at the end of the day what they want is for you to just go long and give it them back’. That’s exactly what Tranmere did and – as Derek Adams was quick to point out afterwards: “Having most of the possession does not make you the better team”.
So Morecambe won – deservedly in my opinion. I’m obviously totally biased but I thought Tranmere got precisely what they deserved today. They are a big, aggressive side with old-fashioned bruisers such as Vaughan and Monthe in it and if you take Corey Blackett-Taylor out of the equation, they don’t seem to offer much in terms of skill. Sacking Keith Hill on the eve of the Play-Offs was a gamble by the club’s Top Brass – a gamble that clearly didn’t pay off. If I were a Tranmere fan, I think I would be seriously wondering about the record of their Chairman Mark Palios. Micky Mellon worked wonders at Fleetwood and took Rovers back into the EFL and then League One after that. He’s doing a sterling job at Dundee United at the moment and there are strong rumours that Tranmere are trying to persuade him to take over the hot seat at Prenton Park once more. So why let him go in the first place? Similarly, why on earth sack Keith Hill when he had revitalised a club looking like potential relegation contenders to such an extent that they were on the cusp of a return to League One? It really makes you wonder about the leadership at the Wirral club…
But who cares – apart from their own fans? Next step for Morecambe is the Play-Off Final at Wembley, where either Forest Green Rovers or – more likely at this moment in time – Newport County and Kevin Ellison will await. We shall know later today but whoever it is, Derek Adams clearly has the nous to ensure that the Shrimps will have very little to fear from either of these sides.
Morecambe: 1 Kyle Letheren; 21 Ryan Cooney (Y); 4 Nathaniel Knight-Percival; 5 Sam Lavelle (C); 22 Liam Gibson; 24 Yann Songo’o; 10 Aaron Wildig (14 Alex Kenyon 87’); 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 9 Cole Stockton; 19 Liam McAlinden (15 Brad Lyons 81’); 11 Carlos Mendes-Gomes.
Subs not used: 12 Mark Halstead; 6 Harry Davis; 18 Ben Pringle; 17 A-Jay Leitch-Smith; 2 Kelvin Mellor.
Tranmere Rovers: 13 Joe Murphy; 2 Lee O’Connor (17 Otis Khan 45’); 26 Peter Clarke (C); 8 Jay Spearing; 7 Kieron Morris (28 David Nugent 45’); 3 Liam Ridehalgh (18 Calum MacDonald 63’); 6 Manny Monthe (Y); 9 James Vaughan (Y); 22 Paul Lewis; 19 Liam Feeney; 11 Corey Blackett-Taylor (14 Kaiyne Woollery 63’).
Subs not used: 30 Ben Jones; 4 Sid Nelson; 35 Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick; 15 Ali Crawford.
Ref: Thomas Bramall.
Attendance: c.1555.
