Savage soars to keep the dream alive

Apr 13 2009 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Echo

IT was by no means the most impressive of the half a dozen away wins Tranmere have squeezed out of the League One programme – but none have enjoyed better timing.

The three points gained from an untidy scrap at the Bescot Stadium lifted Rovers into the play-off zone and turned up the pressure on rivals Scunthorpe, who dropped two points outside the top six with a couple of games in hand.

One piece of high quality wing play from Ed Sonko, against the club he played for last season, turned the game and changed the mood of an afternoon that had threatened to deliver another dose of awayday frustration for Ronnie Moore's team.

The Gambian winger delivered a perfectly measured cross, in a game when so many went astray, giving striker Bas Savage an inviting target for the far post header he planted into the net on 80 minutes.

The 682 travelling supporters behind the goal erupted in joyous celebration and sang their hearts out as Tranmere negotiated the final quarter hour of action with professional assurance.

Moore was entitled to shake his fists in relief as much as triumph at the final whistle. Tranmere just about deserved their victory on the balance of scoring opportunities. But it was an uncomfortably close run thing.

For more than a nervous hour, the game looked like it might well become one of those wasted opportunities that have marked Tranmere stuttering progress on the road over the last eight months. The anxiety melted away after Sonko and Savage made their decisive intervention.

The opportunity for Rovers to make a significant move in the promotion race was presented by Scunthorpe's unexpected home defeat to Huddersfield.

But there was never much prospect of the visitors taking the game by the scruff of the neck. Mid-table Walsall were stubbornly determined to make a fight of it and often had Tranmere on the back foot in the first half.

The day might have gone horribly wrong if Michael Ricketts' aims had been just a couple of inches lower when smashing a close range shot against the bar early on.

Once a gain Tranmere owed much to the defence that has been their strongest suit this season. Danny Coyne made a couple of sharp saves to ensure the defence kept clean sheet number 15 this season.

Ian Goodison was reassuringly strong and resourceful at the heart of the back four, demonstrating why Rovers have just extended the contract of the 36-year-old Jamaican by another two seasons.

Centre back partner Ben Chorley hardly put a foot wrong either, as Rovers locked out the opposition for a fourth game in a row.

The passing wasn't at its most cohesive in any area of the field and Rovers were unable establish any authority on the contest until the final quarter.

They might have guessed that fortune would be favourable when Sofiene Zaaboub created danger with a cross from the left on 19 minutes and Ricketts' first-time effort crashed against the woodwork and rebounded to safety.

Tranmere responded two minutes later when Charlie Barnett seized on a loose pass from Zaaboub and slipped a first-time ball through for Ian Moore, creating a chance inside the box on the striker's left foot. His low effort was not crisply struck and Rene Gilmartin was able to make a sprawling save.

When pacey striker Jabo Ibehre made the most of a convenient bounce to gallop clear of Steve Jennings and Goodison in the 42nd minute, Coyne came to Tranmere's rescue by saving at the second attempt at his near post.

Once again, Tranmere followed an escape with a near miss of their own as a corner from Barnett deflected into the path of Antony Kay, whose venomous first-time shot from a dozen yards was instinctively kept out by Gilmartin.

The teams continued to trade near misses after the break. Zaaboub curled a free-kick just over and substitute Troy Deeney forced Coyne into a smothering save, while at the other end Kay's well-struck 25 yard shot had Gilmartin at full stretch.

Shotton's pace enabled him to get back in time to make a challenge that forced Ibehre to fluff his shot after the striker wriggled into space.

Kay must have wondered if he had wasted Tranmere's best chance of victory when he ran onto a cross from Moore and headed wide of a gaping target on 75 minutes.

But five minutes later Sonko showed why murmurs of apprehension could be heard among the home fans whenever he found an opportunity to run at the Walsall defenders. Some neat footwork took the winger away from a lunging tackle by Rhys Weston and the cross, floated to the far post, gave Savage the chance to use his height to full advantage with a downward header into the net.

Tranmere did their best to play the remainder of the contest in and around Walsall's two corner flags.

The home side managed only one serious threat when Ibehre headed Chris Palmer's right wing corner straight at Coyne on 83 minutes.

Walsall: Gilmartin, Weston, Gerrard, Smith, Palmer, Nicholls (Deeney 61), Bradley, Hughes, Zaaboub (Boertin 76), Ibehre, Ricketts. Not used: Belshaw, Craddock, Davies.

Tranmere: Coyne, Shotton, Chorley, Goodison, Cresswell (Taylor 67), Sonko, Jennings (Edds 81) Barnett (Curran 71), Moore, Savage. Not used: Achterberg, Burns.

Referee: David Phillips, Sussex.

Attendance: 4206.