Tranmere Rovers FC lose 1-0 at home to Bristol Rovers FC

Mar 9 2011 by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post

BRISTOL ROVERS left the Prenton Park crowd feeling as flat as a pancake.

On Shrove Tuesday, Tranmere were looking to gorge on the visitors’ troubles but instead had their lean spell of league form prolonged.

Without a victory in six matches, Les Parry’s men fell to a seventh home defeat of the season last night and though the Wirral club remain 18th in League One, the buffer between themselves and the bottom four has been cut to four points.

Colin Lines’s 19th minute goal was enough for the Pirates to mark the post-Dave Penny era with a win, as once again, the pressure of being favourites does not fit the Merseysiders well.

After the recent Yeovil defeat came this latest disappointment in which Rovers never truly recovered from the Pirates’ plundering midway through the opening period.

Defeat will be hard enough to swallow but that a vulnerable Bristol looked ripe for the picking at several stages during the game will hurt the most; it was an opportunity missed by the home side.

That Bristol goalkeeper Conrad Logan went largely untested, tells its own very frustrating story and the boos which rang out at full-time a product of those exasperations.

Tranmere were unchanged from the side who earned a point at Charlton Athletic on Saturday while for Bristol, the week has seen significant upheaval.

Penny was sacked on Monday, leaving player Stuart Campbell to take the reins for last night’s match – holding the dubious honour of being the Pirates’ fourth manager inside three months.

Campbell operated in a five-man midfield for the visitors and looked to stifle Tranmere before striking on the counter, as Parry suggested Bristol would.

Despite trying to congest the middle, Bristol often found themselves struggling to keep tabs on Tranmere’s middle three who linked up well with the trio up front early on.

However Tranmere’s growth was stunted when Bristol opened the scoring with their first effort of the match on 19 minutes. The home side failed to deal with the ball pumped into the area and from the spoils, Lines buried a fine half-volley into the bottom right hand corner of Tony Warner’s goal.

The goal had a remarkable swing on the momentum of the game, reviving Bristol whilst putting Tranmere on edge.

Confidence had been replaced by confusion at the back and Campbell so nearly doubled Bristol’s lead just three minutes later but saw his effort strike the outside of the post.

The jitters appeared to affect Ash Taylor most of all and his wayward headed back pass allowed Will Hoskins a sight of goal; fortunately the Bristol captain’s volley was straight at Warner.

At the other end, the evening was beginning to frustrate Tranmere as Lines showed his defensive capabilities when blocking John Welsh’s goalbound effort before Enoch Showunmi and Joss Labadie wasted openings.

Despite the period of indifference, the feeling remained Tranmere could still exploit a side which had leaked 42 league goals away from home this season.

And manager Parry was opted change the shape near the end of the half, taking off Taylor and bringing on Adam McGruk as a strike partner for Showunmi as they went 4-4-2.

The initial signs were positive as the substitute looked lively, linking up with Showunmi whilst the tweak in formation brought on-loan winger Andy Robinson into the game more.

Bristol for their part, approached the second period positively with Gavin Williams offering greater support to lone man Hoskins.

As Tranmere’s desperation for the equaliser mounted, their play became increasingly ragged allowing Bristol to push them back on the counter in increasingly assured fashion.

And the home side were thankful for Warner producing a excellent smothering stop to deny Hoskins late on but it could not prevent his side falling to defeat.