Tranmere trip for Brannan's Shrimps

13 February 2024

We hit the road again on Tuesday 13 February, as we make the trip to Prenton Park to face Tranmere Rovers.

Morecambe will be hoping to make it three wins in three when they make the journey to the Wirral to face Tranmere Rovers.

A win would also make it three wins in as many away trips for the Shrimps, after 2-1 wins at both MK Dons and Crawley Town, late goals on both occasions helping to claim three points for Ged Brannan’s side.

Brannan will be hoping to continue his side’s performance from Saturday 10 February, where he guided the Shrimps to his first home victory since taking his post in November. An early goal from Ged Garner proved to be the decider, as Morecambe came out on top to mark their 12^th win of the Sky Bet League Two season.

Morecambe vs Sutton 10th February-14.jpg

In their fixture, Tranmere Rovers made the trip over to Yorkshire to face Doncaster Rovers at the Eco-Power Stadium. Joe Ironside opened the scoring for the hosts before the visitors equalised through Josh Hawkes on the hour mark. However, the score did not remain level for long, as Hakeeb Adelakun’s 64^th minute goal secured a 2-1 win for the home side.

Tuesday night’s two sides last faced each other in this season’s reverse fixture in October 2023. On this night, a deflected goal proved the difference, with Morecambe defender Chris Stokes no doubt claiming the goal that gave Morecambe a 1-0 victory. Before this fixture, the two sides last met in the League Two play-off semi-finals. Across the two legs, the Shrimps won 3-2 on aggregate – ultimately going on to beat Newport County at Wembley to gain promotion to League One.

The Opposition

After a challenging start to their campaign, the Rovers have managed to improve their performances and now find themselves towards the middle of the League Two table. 11 wins and four draws leave Nigel Adkin’s side on 37 points, 18^th position in the league standings.

Adkins has been at the helm at Prenton Park since the start of November, after spending a two-month period as interim manager following Ian Dawes’ departure. The Birkenhead local had a three-year spell as a Rovers player in the 80s.

Key Players

Experienced centre-forward Connor Jennings tops the scoring charts for Tranmere Rovers, the 32-year-old scoring nine in the league so far this season, with an additional five assists to his name. Jennings is in his second spell with the Rovers, with a double century of appearances to his name.

Rob Apter has also proven to be an important asset for the Rovers so far this season, the young Blackpool loanee scoring six and assisting two in his 25 appearances.

Ged Brannan’s Pre-Match Thoughts

Morecambe manager Ged Brannan spoke about his side remaining in the playoff mix at this stage in the season. He said:

“You want to be up there don’t you, you don’t want to be at the other end. When you’re around the playoffs, you’re doing a good job.”

“We’ve got to keep on going. We’ve got to take every game as it comes, and we’ve got a big one tomorrow.”

He went on to speak about the challenge ahead in a midweek trip to Tranmere Rovers.

“[Tranmere Rovers] are obviously a big part of me, the club, but Morecambe comes first at the minute so we will be going there to get three points.”

“They’re a hard-working team, it’s going to be a really tough game. We’ll have to pull our sleeves up and put another performance in.”

The Man in the Middle

Ben Speedie will be the man in charge at Prenton Park, the referee officiating his 24^th fixture of the season. In his previous 23, Speedie has brandished 60 yellows, with an additional three reds.

The referee last took charge of a game involving the Shrimps on Halloween, when Morecambe made the trip to Barrow AFC, a result Morecambe fans will have been quick to forget.

Speedie will be joined by Daniel Woodward and Joe Simpson running the line, with fourth official Ross Joyce completing the team of officials.

Team News

Stu Moore, Donald Love, JJ McKiernan and Brandon Barker will remain sidelined for Tuesday’s Tranmere trip, with their respective injuries.

Watch Live

Shrimps’ fans who are not making the trip to Prenton Park on Tuesday night will be able to watch the action with an iFollow Shrimps video match pass.

Click the banner below for more information!

Match Reports

Late victory for Shrimps at Prenton Park

13 February 2024

The Shrimps left it late to claim all three points against Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.

The hosts found themselves two goals up inside ten minutes before Charlie Brown pulled one back.

Jordan Slew equalised with eight minutes of normal time to play before Jacob Davenport netted in emphatic fashion to win the game.

The hosts struck quick and managed to break the deadlock with just four minutes on the clock. After capitalising on a defensive mistake, Harvey Saunders broke down the right and squared the ball to Apter who couldn’t miss.

Rovers were awarded a penalty on 10 minutes after Chris Stokes allegedly brought down Saunders in the box. Up stepped Jennings who sent Archie Mair the wrong way to double the advantage.

Four minutes later, the Shrimps halved the deficit. Julian Larsson initially pulled the trigger from the edge of the box, his strike landed at the feet of Brown who turned and rocketed the ball into the back of the net.

Ged Garner came close to levelling proceedings midway through the first half after latching onto Stokes’ ball over the top and firing a first-time volley straight at Luke McGee.

Ged Brannan’s men looked to finish the half strongly as Joe Adams managed to evade defensive pressure and release the shot only for it to be blocked at the last second.

Both defences ended the half strongly with vital blocks being made for either side, denying any more goals in the first 45.

Half-time: Tranmere Rovers 2 Morecambe 1

The Shrimps started the second half in the ascendency and managed to win three corners in six minutes, none of which carved out any clear-cut chances.

A half chance fell to Saunders on 55 minutes after the ball bounced kindly into his path in the Morecambe box, but he failed to keep the ball down and fired high into the stand behind the goal.

With 67 minutes on the clock, Rovers came close to extending their lead after catching the Shrimps on the counter. Apter broke away down the right before looking to bend one into the far corner, though the save proved comfortable for Mair.

Just before the clock ticked over the 80-minute mark, McGee was called into action after Jordan Slew struck a venomous shot toward the near post with the Tranmere number one palming away the effort.

It didn’t take long for Slew to find the back of the net. Three minutes later, Senior received the pass from Adams down the right and delivered a cross which put the ball on a plate for Slew who made no mistake from close range.

Both sides had chances to win it in the space of one minute. First, Jennings struck from distance which sailed narrowly wide before Senior’s shot from the edge of the box was saved comfortably by McGee.

With the last kick of the game, the Shrimps did win it. Substitute Davenport stepped up and struck a free kick from distance which nestled in the top corner – an incredible way to complete a comeback.

Full-time: Tranmere Rovers 2 Morecambe 3

Tranmere Rovers: McGee, O’Connor (Yarner, 82’), Davies ©, Turnbull, Morris (Hawkes, 68’), Hendry, Jennings, Saunders (Dennis, 86’), McAlear (Lewis, 68’), Apter, Wood.

Subs not used: Murphy, Jolley, Norris.

Goals: Apter (04’), Jennings (10’).

Bookings: Hendry, Morris, Saunders, Hawkes.

Red cards: None.

Morecambe: Mair, Tutonda, Bedeau ©, Adams, Garner, Larsson (Slew, 62’), Senior, Stokes, Taylor (Davenport, 76’), Brown (Edwards, 63’), Khumbeni (Songo’o, 75’).

Subs not used: A Smith, Harrack, Melbourne.

Goals: Brown (14’), Slew (82’), Davenport (90+4’).

Bookings: Adams, Khumbeni.

Red cards: None.

Attendance: TBC

Ticket News

Tickets available for our Tuesday night trip to Tranmere

30 January 2024

Tickets are now on sale for our Tuesday night trip to Prenton Park on 13 February.

Ticket Prices

	Advance Ticket Price	Matchday Price
Adult	£23	£25
Senior 65+	£18	£20
Young Person 18-22	£16	£18
Under 18	£9	£11
Under 12	£5	£7
Disabled plus PA	£16	£18

All children the age of 12 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult over 18. A young person will require an ID that displays their date of birth. Tranmere do not accept student ID. Failure to provide ID will be charged the full adult price.

Supporters can buy tickets online by clicking here; alternatively, they can be bought in-store or over the phone by calling 01524 411797 (ext 3). Parking is available to book in advance via trfctickets.co.uk for £6.

We strongly advise tickets to be purchased in advance to avoid delays on the day of the match. Please note, prices increase by £2 on the day.

The deadline for advances sales and refund requests is Tuesday 13 February at 12pm.

Rovers have advised they have three wheelchair bays available. To order, visit us in-store where a complimentary carer ticket will be issued after the relevant admission price has been paid.

If you don't receive your ticket through the post by 17:00 on Monday 12 January, please contact tickets@morecambefc.com or call the Club Shop to receive a duplicate.