Tranmere 2-1 Yeovil

[Joe_TRFC]

Good win... well predicted Ian!! \\/ Hopefully we can go on from here... Still need a win on Tuesday to get back in play off contention. So no complacency on Tuesday please from Rovers!

1st half we sounded quite good. Zola sounded like he was having a really good game and scored after only 4 mins. Sheriff, Myrie-Williams, Zola all going close to adding a 2nd.

2nd half we didn't get started and some sloppy defending allowed Kirk to equalise. The struggling McLaren (injury) was replaced by Mullin and against the run of play Zola spun and won a penalty. Myrie-Williams stepped up... very worrying I thought but converted and confidently by the sounds of it. Marc Bircham was sent off for hauling down Jennings when he was racing clear... should have been a straight red maybe but given a 2nd booking and sent off. After that sounded like we improved but still a few nervy moments at the back and it took a last ditch tackle by Stockdale to prevent Owusu and a good save from Coyne to keep out a Kirk effort.

Good win anyway and hopefully will be followed up by another on Tuesday!

 

[Ian]

Very well observed Joe, not bad considering you're hundreds of miles away from the action! But quite right.

Rovers didn't have to work hard for a 1-0 lead at half time.
Yeovil were out of sorts and certainly didn't seem interested in the first half. Tranmere were winning all the balls and all the effort was coming from the home side, it's just a shame we couldn't capatalise a bit more with at least another goal.

Yeah, Zola had a decent game. Excellent strike from quite a way out, good accuracy in the shot, and he was unlucky later on in the half when his shot went just wide of the post.

Yeovil started the second half the much better team. They looked lively and I'd only said 30 seconds before they scored how we always seem to lose concentration and allow teams back into games! I could just see it coming.. It was a sloppy goal to give away, but, more importantly, we kept on the pressure and got the rewards.

I've said this before and I don't mind saying it again, but signing Andy Taylor has to be the best bit of business Rovers have done in a while. In fact it is! I think the last time they spent money on a defender was about eight years ago! But he's a quality player and a great attacking full back.

Overall the players played well today. Myre-Williams seems to have come on a bit. I still think there's a lot of work to do with him, but he seemed more involved today. I had to laugh. When we all realised he was taking the penalty, a lot of people couldn't look, not even Ronnie! The lad put it away nicely though to be fair..

Taylor played OK, again only really being utilised in the air, but he was effective enough.

Very pleased with this week's efforts but they really must win on Tues for all this to count. This is when we have to make it count. Three straight wins in this league would send you right into the mix.

Finally, a word about the referee. Another clown in charge! [-X

 

[Luke trfc 4 lyf]

gd win 2day great 2 c myrie williams score!!ANY1 ON HERE GOING 2 THE MASTERS 2 C SOME OF THE REAL TRANMERE LEGENDS PUT THE WHITE SHIRT ON AGAIN?http://www.mastersfootball.com/merseysidemasters_2008.htm

 

[roverstillidie]

Very scrappy game but a deserved win. Jennings played very well and Zola had a decent game. Goodison looked a bit out of sorts and Mclaren clearly wasn't fit. I think Ronnie did the usual half time team talk as their goal was coming from the start of the 2nd half. But it was a decent performance and hopfully we can push on now and get 3 points against Gillingham.

Still not happy about Curran not starting, he's lightyears better than G.Taylor. I think the inclusion of Greenacre on the bench ahead of Jones shows that Ronnie doesn't have faith in Curran. He's basically saying if one of the strikers get's injured i'll bring Greenacre on, but if I just need to waste time i'll bring on Curran, 28 sub apperances (Most of which for 5 minutes) - that says it all.

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

Firstly, a vitally important 3 points. After results went well for us last night, it was vital we took advantage of this and got the win we needed too.

Great goal by Zola, nice to see that go in early on, and he had a decent game after that too, and the partnership with him and Taylor worked relatively well for us.

Same old problems haunt us though, and the start of the second half, we looked half asleep and the opposite affect was had by Yeovil as they woke up and started to get at us, and it was a soft goal we conceded. Poor defending, which was disappointing as it was their first real look at the goal. Goodison's return had, before that, made the back line look assured.

Also nice to see Myrie-Williams bag himself a goal with the pen. He had a decent game, but he still seems to go down blind alleys a lot, and he is definitely the most one-sdied player I've ever seen, yet Ronnie sticks him on his WRONG side! :lol:

Important thing was to get 3 points and we did so, so gotta be pleased. On to Tuesday night and hope we can get another 3 points then too to put ourselves properly back in the mix. SWA

 

[NeverBeatDaveHiggins]

Ok so we did score early, a nice finish from Zola but he really did have to score it, the pass in from Sherriff put it on a plate as the saying goes, in space, in front of the goal just inside the box. Just the sort of chance he's been missing by the bucketload lately. So yeah he really did have to score it.

Then we murdered them until about 4 minutes to go in the first half, but didn't score, somehow. Williams missed with a very good chance and their keeper made a couple of saves. Then the complacency set in. We have certain players who just don't seem willing to maintain the tempo when we're in charge and as a result we let them back into it. We were the ones running down the clock at the end of the first half, which was crazy considering we were one-nil up and completely in charge.

Then we come out and can't put a foot on the ball, Yeovil just play keep ball for a few minutes and we let them, dropping deeper and deeper and deeper. In the first half every one of our lads from front to back was winning their battles, so we KNOW they're capable, yet for some reason not one of them took responsibility out there. Yeovil upped their game a little, but we let ours slide and in the end at their period of pressure we let them score a soft goal.

That woke our lads up a bit and we worked our way back to in charge. The penalty was a little dubious, I didn't see the contact that the ref must have, I did see that Zola had lost control of it and gone to ground. A bit of a soft one if it was one. No more than we deserved for the continued pressure, but I'm still not sure if it was really a penalty. Williams converted in a cool fashion, sending the keeper the wrong way.

Yeovil disappointed me quite a lot really seeing as they're about our level in the league, they were really quite dirty although perhaps not through intent, just through clumsy challenges. The ref hardly gave a thing to us all game, yes he booked two of their players, one of them twice, but that's it about it and considering the persistant foul play against Williams in particular, the ref just wasn't in control at all.

It seems Taylor and Zola was the right partnership to play against Yeovil as they couldn't cope with the two big men at all. Taylor won a heck of a lot of the balls to him and quite a few balls that were never his. But he's not a contender for man of the match because it's Steve Jennings again, that lad's come on so much that I'm starting to worry he's too good for us.

Have to mention the physio 'race' that Les lost. It was funny as hell watching their physio who set off with a fifteen yard headstart, repeatedly looking over his shoulder as Les thundered up alongside him. Les lost but then again when he got across there was no Tranmere player to treat as he'd already got up. Worth the admission price alone.

 

[Joe_TRFC]

Well Derek Jones does describe the game quite well on the commentary even if he does have annoying moments. I think i've listened to so many games you get a feel for how the game is going. Would rather be there though because sometimes you spend a lot of time worrying needlessly when we aren't in too much danger. Plus football is much better when you can see it... well most of the time! :lol: Anyway... wouldn't it be nice to go to Leeds on the back of 3 wins on the trot. Let's hope the lads deliver on Tuesday. Should be ok if we can produce the same kind of performance as yesterday.

 

[Ian]

Yes Joe, that Leeds game would be a massive one if we were to win on Tues. Did anyone else think the ref was a joke? He missed the most obvious of fouls yet blew his whistle on the ones nobody else saw!?

I still think Sherriff looks lost most of the time. With Taylor pushing him forward, he doesn't seem to know where his position is.

 

[roverstillidie]

I wouldn't say the ref was awful i've seen worse - Gavin Ward at Doncaster for instance and he did give us a sending off and a penalty. I think Williams did get fouled a lot but he also made a meal of one or two which I don't like to see.

 

[Boz]

From the ridiculous to the sublime.
First thing Rovers did was welly the ball into touch from the kick-off.
The next time we had the ball, a wonderful move started by Gareth Taylor, defence-splitting pass from the outside of Sherriff's boot and a clinical finish from Zola, who still had a lot to do when the ball reached him.

For the rest of the half, we were on top, only one goalmouth scramble to trouble us. 2nd half completely different, Yeovil in total control, just after their equaliser, they were put through again, only a flag-happy liner saved us. Like Neverbeat, had some doubts about their penalty, though Zola shielded the ball well. The Yeovil boss had no arguments and a cool finish from Myrie-Williams from the spot. The sending off should have been a straight red imo, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, but the ref otherwise wasn't too bad.

Thereafter, we didn't make the extra man count, Yeovil had more chances to equalise than we did to put the game out of reach. Ronnie missed a trick here, putting Curran on ealier, with his pace could have given them more to think about. Yeovil weren't of the same class as last year's side.

MoM Zola had a good first half, but faded. A toss up between Jennings and Myrie-Williams for me, although Sherriff had his best game in ages.

 

[Ian]

MoM Zola had a good first half, but faded. A toss up between Jennings and Myrie-Williams for me, although Sherriff had his best game in ages.

Interesting to hear the Yeovil manager's thoughts on Zola. Saying he was a right handful and can see why it's difficult for defenders to mark him.

Are you serious about Sherriff? OK, I know he setup Zola, but then he ramined largely anonymous throughout..

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

Think Shane is trying his best. I actually think he'd make a good central midfield player as he has a good range of passing and a decent shot on him, but he does lost out wide on the left wing. Square pegs into round holes though isn't at the moment really, clearly Ronnie doesn't have enough faith in Jones to play on the right to allow JMW play wide left.:roll: