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Match report |
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Tranmere Rovers 2 - 2 Swansea City | |
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Tranmere Rovers 2 - 2 Swansea City - Peter and Bethan Charles, Photos supplied by Phil Sumbler The old cliché "game of two halves" doesn't even begin to do justice to this one. Such was the transformation which took place at the interval, it more closely resembled two separate matches, or at the very least, that the two sides had changed shirts as well as ends. In fact there seemed to be plenty of kit confusion in the Swans ranks during the first half, as we constantly delivered the ball perfectly to players in white shirts, seemingly forgetting that we had changed to our away-day black. But this was only one facet of a dire first half performance, which was in stark contrast to a stirring response in the second. But first there was the George Best tribute, excellently observed by both sets of fans. Tranmere opted for the applause approach rather than the silence, and a great minute and a half it was (rescued by the referee's timely whistle - probably his only one of the day).  So how did the league leaders line up? Willy was of course in goal, with our strongest back line: Ricketts, Monk, Iriekpen and Tate. Akinfenwa partnered Trunds up front; no surprises there. But it was the midfield which was going to be the bone of contention for this match, with Jackett not unreasonably showing confidence in the four who had out-done Southend: McLoed, Tudor-Jones, O'Leary and Britton. But it was soon to become obvious that in a "horses for courses debate" this was like fielding donkeys at Aintree. Harsh? Well, may be so. But the first half was largely one way traffic. Tranmere went off like a train. For the first twenty minutes we barely got a touch. Most notably, our international full back was placed firmly in context by his namesake in the opposition ranks - the always impressive Sam Aiston - who roasted our Sammy repeatedly on the right wing. It was as early as the third minute that a low cross from Aiston evaded Monk and found its way through to Delroy Facey. He seemed certain to score from close range, but was denied by an excellent double challenge from Tate and Izzy. But Tranmere continued to pour forward, knocking the ball around to feet, and playing with zip and confidence. In particular, the excellent Aiston was supported by Gareth Roberts pushing forward from full back on the left side, and by the excellent forward running of Facey and Greenacre. It was this combination which caused panic in our hesitant defence on six minutes. We repeatedly failed to clear a series of crosses, and the ball ultimately found its way to Roberts who volleyed from 10 yards. The shot was goal-bound, only to be tipped onto the cross bar by Willy. Tranmere were undeterred, and continued to dominate possession, leaving our midfield chasing shadows. It was no surprise when they took the lead on 19 minutes, Again, Aiston was involved, crossing this time from the opposite flank. We half-cleared, but only as far as Stuart Francis who struck a firm low shot into the net via the inside of the post. Willy was beaten at his near post but it would have taken a special save to stop it. Prior to this we had managed a couple of weak efforts on goal - a couple of wayward efforts from McLoed and another from O'Leary. But the scoreline was everything we deserved. We had completely failed to get a grip on the game. Ricketts was in a constant panic and getting precious little protection from McLoed . On the other side, Britton was muscled out and Tate was trying to shore up the right side. Tudor-Jones and O'Leary failed to get a foot on the ball or even to make a meaningful tackle, conceding possession and ground with consummate ease. It was not pretty. Our front two, unsurprisingly, did not get a look in. And our back four looked to the midfield for some sort of protection - it was not forthcoming.  The closing stages of the half saw us getting a slight foothold in the game, mainly because knocks to Greenacre and Aiston slowed them down. We had a few forays forward, one of which resulted in a decent strike from O'Leary which flew a few yards wide. But it remained the home side who played the better football and looked the more likely - Facey came close with a header on 41 minutes. So it was an immense shock when we forced the equaliser just before half time. Trundle won a free kick with a neat turn, but fired the effort against the wall. From the resulting broken play, a good run and cross from McLoed was met with a brilliant header from Tudor-Jones which flew into the root of the net. The home fans were justifiably gutted and streamed towards the refreshment stalls in disgust. The 800 or so visiting Jacks burst back into life: "That's why we're top of the league" we sang, only to realise shortly afterwards that we won't stay there unless we sort a few things out. A simple ball over the top (again) caught our defence out, leaving Facey with a clear run through on goal. Gueret seemed to commit himself a little early, and Facey slid the ball easily underneath him. The half time talk in the toilets and the stands: our midfield has no grip - bring on Robbie and Robbo. And all credit to KJ - realising that his initial choice was wrong, this is exactly what he did! Off went the ineffective O'Leary and (perhaps slightly harshly) McLeod. And on came Martinez in centre midfield and Robbo wide left. Don't tell me it was coincidence - the transformation was instant. From the first second half whistle, the Swans played with real verve and desire. But this time, also with control and pattern. Gone was the first time hoof up the park, to be replaced by swift passing to feet, carefully orchestrated by Martinez, who immediately began to dominate the centre of the park. The galvanising effect on OTJ was obvious. With the weight of carrying the midfield battle on his lone shoulders lifted from him, he suddenly began to play with confidence and drive, spreading the play well and driving forward at every opportunity. Whilst Martinez knocked the ball around and spread the play, creating space and providing the platform to spring our attacks. Tranmere must have wondered what KJ had said in his team talk - they were suddenly facing (in part literally) a different opposition. There was a brilliant turn and shot by Trundle on 50 minutes which just cleared the bar. There were some dominant passages of play and some driving runs inside from Robinson who injected real energy on the wing. Indeed, there was a great moment from Robbo when one of his runs resulted in him being hacked down on the edge of the area after working an excellent one-two with Trundle. Robbo's response was excellent - he stood up unfazed and offered to shake the hand of the opponent - the anger management is working. He then curled the free kick just over the bar. This was closely followed by a good shot from Martinez, which cleared the bar by a yard. Tranmere's only riposte during this spell had been an effort from Facey where he had rounded Gueret only to fire his shot well over from an angle. Had that gone in, it might have spelt the end of our resistance. But to our credit we kept coming at them, casting caution to the wind at the back and pressing hard for an equaliser that was clearly deserved. Britton gave way for Forbes, who injected further pace on our right side, with some thrusting runs. We became frustrated by the time wasting efforts of the home side, particularly from Achterburg in goal, who seemed to take an age over every goal kick, but the referee was too weak to take any action.  But we didn't give up, and on 81 minutes it looked like we would get our reward. Trundle turned his marker just outside the box and was clipped. He took the free kick from twenty yards, and his low curling drive was fumbled by Achteburg. Incredibly, the rebound evaded two onrushing Swans attackers, but bounced to Monk 18 yards out. It seemed certain he would score but sadly he flashed his shot wide. His anguish was evident. This spurred a response from the home fans who, incredibly, began to celebrate a victory. And a minute later Facey fired just over our bar, when he could have sealed the win. By this stage a home win would have been a travesty, and fortunately we were not to be denied. This time it was a Martinez free kick which was fired dangerously on goal. Again, the keeper failed to hold, and this time Robinson was there to fire home the rebound. It was nothing less than we deserved, and in particular it was fair reward for Robbo's tenacious high impact performance. His delight, and commitment to the cause, were obvious from his celebrations. And there was even time for more drama. We were pouring forward now and looked as though we could break through for a winner. There was great turn and cross from Trundle, whilst marked by four players, which seemed destined to land on Bayo's head, only for a defender to deny him with a desperate header. And then there was a brilliant header from Izzy from a corner, which bounced agonisingly against a post. So close to grabbing all the points, when an hour earlier it seemed more likely that we would be on the end of a hammering. The scenes of celebration at the final whistle made it appear like a victory. And in many senses it was - both in terms of a point won, and frankly, for the return of some common sense. Gueret - 6 A couple of dodgy moments and one brilliant save Ricketts - 6 A poor game for him. Bad distribution and just couldn't cope with Aiston. Tate - 7 a relatively assured performance. Iriekpen - 8 Best defender on the day Monk - 7 hesitant early on but grew in stature as the game went on. Britton - 6 Worked hard to get into the game before the break, and had a great twenty minute spell in second. Unlucky to be taken off. McLoed - 6 A few good moments, but looked languid and off the pace. OTJ - 7 A great improvement second half; struggled badly in the first. A fine goal. O'Leary - 5 (I am being generous). He had a couple of wayward shots, but he didn't do his job in midfield. Deserved to be substituted. Akinfenwa - 7 Became dangerous in second half, without ever being brilliant Trundle - 8 usually had at least two players on him, sometimes four! Showed some great touches, and constantly occupied the defence. Martinez - 9 A brilliant orchestration of midfield play. Gave the entire team shape and pattern. Robinson - 8 Energy and commitment was great. Gave real zest to our play in second half. Forbes - 7 Gave them some real problems in the latter stages. KJ - Top marks for making bold substitutions early enough to make a difference, and for realising that his first choice was not working. Tranmere Rovers 2 - 2 Swansea City - Mike Thomas, Photos supplied by Phil Sumbler Just got back from the game. I hate to say I told you so - but I told you so! The O'L/OTJ midfield combo was never going to work here and Andy Robinson should have been on from the start. In the first half we were firing on three cylinders, or maybe two and a half. Attack couldn't get going, Trunds marked out of the game and the back four looking strangely nervous. Kris O'Leary's limitations were cruelly exposed, he lost the ball virtually every time he took a pass in midfield. They scored soft goal after 20 mins., we laboured away and eventually got the equaliser after 40, good work by Macca to go down the left after a free kick had broken down, got good cross in and OTJ buried it with a thunping header. Just as our clebrations died down, they scored again, forward beat off-side trap, ran at Willy and slotted it past him.  Credit to KJ, cold see it wasn't working and brought off O'Leary and Macca (who'd done nothing wrong but had to make way) for Roberto and Robbo. Different team in second half, although we had early scare when their forwrd again broke through one-on-one with Willy but shot over the bar. That was the turning point, from then on we were all over them like a rash, Martinez running the show and they wasted time desperately at every opportunity to try and stop the inevitable. KJ subbed an out of sorts Leon with Forbsey and it was then all- out attack from the Swans. Our fitness and skill ground them down, but time was running out, and just when we thought "good try lads but it's just not our day", Bayo rasped in a shot which their keeper couldn't hold and Robbo popped up to slot in the rebound. We almost won it in the last minute when Forbsey got on the end of a cross but his header bounced, hit the post and stayed out. Great never say die performance, promotion form, Martinez first on team sheet next time.
Tranmere Rovers 2 - 2 Swansea City - Phil Brynmil, Photos supplied by Phil Sumbler
 Tranmere: Achterberg, Francis, Jackson, Sharps, Goodison, Aiston (Jennings 70), Rankine, Harrison, Roberts, Greenacre (Davies 86), Facey (Zola 90). Subs Not Used: Wilson, Dagnall. Booked: Rankine, Goodison. Goals: Francis 18, Facey 45. Swansea: Gueret, Tate, Iriekpen, Monk, Ricketts, Britton (Forbes 67), Tudur-Jones, O'Leary (Martinez 45), McLeod (Robinson 45), Akinfenwa, Trundle. Subs Not Used: Austin, Connor. Booked: Tudur-Jones. Goals: Tudur-Jones 45, Robinson 88. Att: 7,518 Ref: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
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