Tranmere Rovers miss chance to secure crucial win over Oldham Athletic

Feb 8 2010 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

THE fog that crept up Borough Road and into Prenton Park wasn’t quite thick enough to prevent this North West derby reaching a conclusion – or shrouding a Tranmere show as pale as the afternoon sky.

The cold and clammy hand of the elements matched the mood of fans as they watched Rovers deliver a performance that dipped below the standards they have set over the last couple of months.

Les Parry’s side could not complain about losing the points to an Oldham team posting a first away victory since October.

The Latics were value for the only goal of the game, glanced home by Pawell Abbott on 41 minutes, because their football was just that little bit sharper and brighter.

Tranmere, for all of their positive intentions, were not fluent or creative enough to open up the visitors’ defence and clear-cut scoring chances arrived only late on.

Home teams need to produce more, especially when the stakes are high.

Rovers’ recent form at Prenton Park – four wins and a draw in five league games – and an enterprising display in taking a point at Charlton Athletic at The Valley the previous weekend, encouraged optimism among the faithful.

Instead, they witnessed a reminder of why Rovers have found climbing out of the League One drop zone such an obstinately difficult task.

Parry and his team are yet to crack the formula to unlock a run of results and fire them up the table. Progress continues at a painstaking pace because Tranmere don’t seem to be able to get beyond two steps forward before taking one back.

Even so, there were some sparks of encouragement amidst the gloom, not least in the contribution of new arrival Marvin Sordell in the final 40 minutes of the game.

The 18-year-old striker, recruited on a month’s loan from Watford last week, showed a confident touch and talent for the unpredictable that suggested he could become a potent attacking force over the coming weeks.

Oldham’s defenders were less sure of themselves after Sordell was introduced as a 54th-minute substitute and if the teenager had been able to make a better contract with a double opportunity at close range on 87 minutes, Tranmere might have escaped with a point.

Another youngster, Aaron Cresswell, made a positive return to first-team action at left-back and Chris Shuker produced occasional touches of invention to back up some diligent attention to his defensive responsibilities.

The early minutes suggested we were about to witness a contest with a good deal more enterprise than the goalless draw played out between the teams at Boundary Park last month.

In the opening quarter-hour, Cresswell swept a dangerous low ball across the Oldham goalmouth and Ian Thomas-Moore, turning on Craig Curran’s pass from the right, fired a low shot just beyond the target.

At the other end, Dean Furman sent Luke Daniels sprawling with a 30-yard shot aimed towards the bottom corner.

But as the creeping fog arrived just after the half-hour, Tranmere began to lose their early cohesion.

Oldham put in a decisive burst of attacks just before the break.

Ian Goodison had to make a resourceful clearing tackle to deny the burly Abbott a shooting opportunity 10 yards from goal on 40 minutes. But Abbott then found a yard of space from the resulting corner, delivered to the near post by Dale Stephens, and glanced a header into the net. When Abbott wriggled past Tranmere’s retreating defenders a minute later, he lashed a hurried shot over the bar from a dozen yards.

Oldham carved out another great opportunity six minutes after the restart when right-back Jim Goodwin swept in a cross and Danny Whitaker powered in a header that Daniels touched over at full stretch.

Oldham had decided to concentrate on safeguarding the lead by the time Rovers offered a serious counter-threat.

Cresswell was no more than a foot wide of the right-hand post with a crisp, low free-kick on 78 minutes. Then Sordell cleverly releasing Charlie Barnett on the right, took the substitute’s return pass on the edge of the six-yard box. His initial effort was blocked by goalkeeper Dean Brill and a firmer shot from the rebound drew a second, sharper stop.

Five minutes of added time saw more pressure from Tranmere but no real scares for Oldham.