Danny Mayor could help Bas Savage on goal trail

Mar 11 2009 By Jo Kelly

TEENAGE loan signing Danny Mayor could be just the player to put Bas Savage back on the Tranmere goal trail, reckons manager Ronnie Moore.

The 18-year-old winger from Preston marked his Football League debut by setting up Savage’s first strike of the new year in the 1-1 draw at Northampton Town.

The tall front man powered home a classic far post header after Mayor finished off a dashing run on the right with a perfectly delivered cross.

Moore said: "Danny was direct, took people on and played a great ball in for the goal. That’s where we want to see Bas more often. He is six-foot-four so he should be coming in to get his head on crosses like that, not playing out on the right wing.

"It was a great cross and a great finish and we need more of that."

Moore said he was pleased with the contribution from Mayor, a product of Preston’s youth development set-up who signed on Thursday. "The young lad had a very good first half," Moore said. "He can be pleased with his debut.

"We took a gamble in bringing in Danny as we did with Ryan Shotton early in the season. We did not give him enough of the ball in the second half. We starved him but when he had it, what he did was bright and positive."

Bright and positive were also the words Moore used to sum up Tranmere’s performance, although he could not hide his disappointment at taking just a single point from a game they dominated.

"It is frustrating when you look at the opportunities we had," Moore said. "You wonder how on earth we did not win the game.

"We had three one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper and hit the post. We had a real go. It is hard to criticise the players who were disappointed about the result. All we needed on top of a performance like that was better finishing.

"We got behind Northampton a number of times and picked out the wrong option with the final ball. It was a game we should have won.

"People go on about our away form but the form is fine. It is the results - and the wins we need – that are not coming."

The result left Tranmere four points adrift of the play- off places ahead of two home games this week against leaders Leicester City on Wednesday and Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

Moore said: "Leicester will be coming here on an unbeaten run of more than 20 games but we have the second-best home record in the division. So let them worry about us.

"We are only going to get where we want to be by being strong and positive. If we can produce the form we showed against Northampton and add some clinical finishing, we will do well."