Rovers Defeated At Mersey Masters

Rovers legends side fail to qualify from the regional section of the Masters Football competition for the first time since entering the tournament....

Tranmere Rovers tonight failed to qualify for the National Finals of the Selco Masters Cup for the first time since joining the competition in 2008 after defeat in the Mersey Masters to Wigan and Bolton.

The Wirral side have dominated the tournament since it's introduction at the Echo Arena three years ago, winning the title on each occasion and being named National Champions in 2009, but tonight struggled in front of a less than half full crowd.

Tranmere travelled to the tournament without regulars John Actherberg, Georges Santos and Shaun Garnett, with Paul Cook also missing out.  Eric Nixon made his Masters debut for Tranmere, whilst Dave Challinor and Scott Taylor also played in the competition for the first time.

The full squad was:

Eric Nixon
Scott Taylor
Ged Brannan
Eddie Bishop
Dave Challinor
Stuart Barlow
John McGreal
Kenny Irons

Tranmere were drawn in a group with Wigan and Bolton, whilst in the other half of the draw, Everton and Blackpool were drawn together, along with Liverpool, who's squad featured the likes of John Barnes, Stephane Henchoz and Patrick Berger.

After Blackpool had defeated Everton 2-1, Tranmere took to the blue carpet to take on Wigan, but struggled to take their chances and were made to pay.

Wigan were 2-0 ahead by half time, scoring both goals from counter attacks after scoring chances had broken down at the other end of the Super Whites, whilst Ged Brannan struggled to find his shooting range as he kept putting shots over the bar.

After half-time, the Latics scored their third, this after Rovers had missed more chances, before Tranmere pulled one back late on as Scott Taylor tapped home from Kenny Irons' cross.

Liverpool then hammered Everton, with Berger in particular impressing, before Tranmere returned to take on arch rivals Bolton, who they defeated in the 2009 final to lift the Grand Final trophy.

The game was closer, but Tranmere simply couldn't get their noses in front, with the outstanding Owen Coyle, current Bolton manager, netting four times for the Trotters as they defeated Rovers 4-3, Irons, Taylor and Brannan on the score sheet for the Wirral side.

This meant Tranmere were eliminated from the competition at the regional heats stage for the first time, disappointingly losing both games.

Following the game, Stuart Barlow told Total Tranmere "We didn’t play as well as we normally do.  We normally take the lead and then we can keep the ball and command the game, but we just felt we were chasing it tonight.  There’s some good teams out there tonight and some better players."

Bolton went on to qualify from Tranmere's group after defeating Wigan, whilst in the other half of the tournament, Liverpool progressed ahead of Blackpool and Everton.

The final saw the thoroughly impressive Liverpool annihilate The Trotters, with Berger, who was named Player of the Tournament, and Kvarme netting twice along with a strike from Walsh, who won the Golden Boot, in a 5-1 rout.