“I don’t think he knew where it was going and it’s ended up in the back of our net” – so said Tranmere manager Ronnie Moore of Greg Tansey’s wonderful strike after Saturday’s draw against the league leaders. We rather believe that if you can’t appreciate a moment of such creativity and execution from someone who, y’know, has form for it this season, you ought to go and work in Asda.
If we had to sum up the game on Saturday in a word or a phrase, we would easily settle for “awful conditions”. Miserable, grey and persistently peeing it down, it wasn’t conducive to a hugely entertaining spectacle. You would also wish for common sense from the officials – specifically referring to the decision to award the visitors a throw in after the ball escaped David Gray’s grasp. IT WAS WET!
Fair enough, Tranmere look impressive and you can see why they are in League One’s pole position. But their goal was a bit of a gift – two forwards and one defender in the box when the ball came over from the right. It has been a little concerning how fallible we sometimes look from wide areas of late. That said, the reaction in the final 10 minutes was good to see and it was worth a fairly decent point.
We may have slipped out of the playoff places for the time being, but as December rears its festive head, we rather like the idea of being outside and peeing in as things stand. Because someone will come out of the tent to tell us to stop, and we’ll laugh, wedgie them and make our own way in. It is guaranteed to leave someone grimacing in pain and humiliation. Who that will be? Who knows… not us, though.
And we’re still only five points from the top. Now we have a two-week break ahead of what will be an interesting run of games – away to bottom club Hartlepool and then at home to fellow promotion chancers Crawley Town. It’d be absolutely spiffing to take six points and improve the old Goal Difference ahead of the tough trip to Brentford. And we have time to prepare heartily for that battle.
Ratings to Make Grey Skies Blue by…
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7 – Faultless for the goal; handled the greasy conditions confidently. |
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7 – The weather suited epic sliding tackles. And this man does not leave you wanting. |
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6 – Nothing says “I love you” to your wife more than a signed Robbo shirt for Xmas. |
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6 – The Robbo/Ash-led education continues and his grades are improving. |
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5 – Caught somewhat out of performance for Rovers’ goal, you might say. |
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7 – This season’s highlights DVD will be two discs – one for Greg, one for the rest. |
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7 – Noticeable determination and a battling performance throughout. |
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6 – He won’t let you past, so just stop trying. And give the ball back. Ta. |
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6 – Nothing’s gonna stop him… except injury. |
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5 – A disappointingly subdued performance against his former employers. |
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6 – “I put my gloves up in the air sometimes, singing Haber; Marcus Haber” |
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7 – Introduced earlier than planned, but offered a continued threat. |
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6 – Ran a bit, jumped a bit, put himself about a bit. |
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6 – Undoubted commitment. Questionable taste in hats. |
