Crewe Alex 2 - 1 Tranmere Rovers Match Snippets

After Tranmere had taken the lead at Gresty Road through Antony Kay, it all looked good at half-time but after losing Ian Goodison to injury in the second half, Rovers collapsed and allowed the home side to sneak a 2-1 win late on which was harsh on Tranmere.

Crewe Alex   2 - 1  Tranmere

Weather Report

Once the pre-match sun went down it got colder but it wasn't as bitter as expected and the packed stand made for a warm environment in which to watch football.

Crowd

4,936 were inside Gresty Road and over 1000 of them were Tranmere Fans who deserved more on the pitch for their support than they actually got in the end.  A pat on the backto all those who made it and to those who had to queue outside and missed the kick-off.

Referee Watch

Paul Taylor (Hertfordshire) - The Rovers fans were quick to get on the referee's back and to be fair a few of the early yellow cards may on another day have not been handed out.  Arguably missed a penalty shout for Rovers towards the end too  - 5/10

Best Moment

Kay's goal, poor though it appeared, gave Rovers a lead that the fans felt might be enough to help the team kick on and has tobe the highlight of the game.

Worst Moment

Whilst some will argue that the loss of Goodison to injury cost us the game, others will say that the substitution that followed in putting Edds at right-back instead of moving Kay to centre-back had a negative effect.  Either way the loss of Goodison was possibly the worst moment of the game.

Tranmere Man of the Match

Steven Jennings - On a day when a lot of Rovers players huffed and puffed but struggled to make an impression, Steven Jennings outshone them all with another commited midfield performance.

Connections

Crewe's late substitute Calvin Zola arguably changed the game for them against his former employers.  Chris McCready who is also now at Crewe was out injured as he has been for most of the season.

Rovers Fans

Being spread across the whole length of the pitch and also having to (supposedly) sit in allocated seats meant that often there were two or even three different groups of noise.  All the same a superb turnout of over 1000 which deserved a better performance and result.

Crewe Alexandra Fans

Hardly any home fans were in the Stadium ten minutes prior to kick-off but when the game did get started they were quiet throughout until the final five minutes when they seemed to crawl out of wherever they had been hiding to finally make a bit of noise.

Summary

After two great home results in 2009, Rovers should have gone on from 1-0 up to win this game and a second goal would surely have killed Alex off but as it was the loss of a central defender and the two late goals that followed meant Rovers went home empty handed.

Other teams around the play-offs also lost so not as much ground has been lost as could have been but a win today would have been more valuable than some Rovers fans may have thought.

Entertainment Value

Apart from the first ten minutes of the first half, Rovers played some great football in the opening 45 minutes but in the second half it was a different story as Crewe dominated what was still a scrappy and often sloppy game. 5/10