Southampton 3-0 Tranmere |
13 December 2009 | Written by Paul Harper |
 Tranmere's five-game unbeaten run came to an end at St Mary's when they were defeated 3-0 by a strong Southampton side.
Les Parry once more named an unchanged starting line-up as Rovers tried to build on their recent impressive performances.
It
was a scrappy first half affair, with neither side creating any
clear-cut opportunities on goal. But the best of the half-chances fell
Rovers' way.
Ian Thomas-Moore volleyed over the crossbar, Craig
Curran also had a shot which flew narrowly over while John Welsh had a
couple of efforts from distance which went just wide of the Southampton
goal, as Tranmere arguably edged the opening period. The Saints only
had a Morgan Schneiderlin effort to speak of, with Luke Daniels doing
well to save.
Early into the second half, Southampton opened the
scoring with a Christmas cracker of a goal. There was some neat
interchanging passes around the Tranmere penalty area before the ball
was played to the left to full-back Dan Harding who stepped up and
powered a beautiful left-footed shot into Daniels' top corner with the
on-loan West Brom 'keeper standing no chance of saving it.
And
it wasn't long before they doubled their advantage in bizarre
circumstances. A corner kick was swung in from the right, and for no
apparent reason, Marlon Broomes, with nobody within two or three yards
of him, raised both arms and almost caught the ball with both hands to
concede a penalty.
Only he will be able to explain what he was
doing, but the referee leniently only handed out a yellow card to the
former Blackburn defender. Saints' top scorer Rickie Lambert converted
the spot kick with aplomb to make it 2-0.
A third and final goal
arrived with 20 minutes remaining. Curran and Harding both went up for
a header and collided. The referee decided to give a free-kick to
Southampton and Rovers were punished by a piledriver of a shot by
Lambert whose shot flew over the defensive wall at a rate of knots and
into the top corner with Daniels stranded once more.
It was a
disappointing way to end the unbeaten streak, but we faced a strong
Saints side who are full of confidence and in Rickie Lambert have a
striker every team in this division would love to have. It's back to
the drawing board ahead of next Saturday's home clash against Bristol
Rovers.
Tranmere (4-3-3):
Daniels; Logan, Broomes, Goodison, Bakayogo; Welsh (McLaren 77),
Taylor, Edds (Shuker 69); Thomas-Moore, Gornell (Ricketts 69), Curran.
Subs not used: Collister, Cresswell, Barnett, Fraughan.
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Next Match |
Last Match |
Yeovil v Tranmere
League One
11.9.2010
Kick-off: 15:00
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|
Tranmere v Peterborough Utd
League One
4.9.2010
Score: 1 - 0
 Match report |
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Match postponed as the pitch at Brentford is waterlogged. The match will be rescheduled at a later date.
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Marvin Sordell joins on loan Les Parry has signed Watford's Marvin Sordell on a month loan deal. After losing out to several targets, the first year pro will be available for selection for Tranmere's home game against Oldham. Les added, "We've been short of goals recently and hopefully Marvin will bring us some added firepower. He's fast and strong and will be a good addition to our squad". |
Bakayogo extends deal Tranmere full back Zoumana Bakayogo who has impressed with his performances over recent weeks has extended his contract until the end of the season. He added: "I'm very happy to have signed. I really like this club and the players and I'm happy here. |
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Date
|
Competition
|
Home
|
Away
|
Score
|
|
09.09.2005
|
League One |
Tranmere
|
Bradford City |
2 - 2
|
|
09.09.2000
|
League One
|
Wolves |
Tranmere
|
1 - 2
|
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|
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|
|
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
Pts |
13. |
Walsall |
5 |
6 |
14. |
Exeter City |
4 |
5 |
15. |
Tranmere |
5 |
5 |
16. |
Hartlepool |
5 |
5 |
17. |
Bristol Rovers |
5 |
5 |
|
