Tranmere Rovers.............2

Guiseley............................1

A dramatic James Norwood penalty in injury time earned Tranmere victory against Guiseley in a frantic finish at Prenton Park.

Danny Boshell gave the visitors the lead on 24 minutes with a magnificent volley from before Norwood restored parity on the stroke of half time with a close range header.

Despite dominating the second half Rovers looked like they would have to settle for a point until goalkeeper Steven Drench clipped Norwood in the box who got up to convert the pressure kick.

The win was Tranmere’s first at Prenton Park since 3rd October and also ended a goal drought, which had stretch back over four matches.

Scott Davies saved brilliantly at the feet of Anthony Dudley in the sixth minute before denying James Hurst’s follow-up attempt.

Rovers responded quickly with far post headers from Andy Mangan and Gary Taylor-Fletcher in quick succession, both of which were comfortably held by Guiseley stopper Steven Drench.

But in the 24th minute Guiseley took the lead when a high ball dropped on the edge of the box for Danny Boshell who unleashed a superb volley into the bottom left corner of the net.

Superb control from Steve Jennings presented the Tranmere captain with a shooting opportunity before the break, but he was hesitant and elected a lateral pass to Taylor-Fletcher, which was easily cut out.

In first half stoppage time Mekki was denied a close range shot by scorer Boshell before Hurst miraculously prevented a certain goal for Norwood with a dramatic interception one yard out.

Norwood was not to be denied however and from the ensuing Mekki corner, the striker nodded home from six yards out with virtually the last touch of the half.

After the break Tranmere shot out of the blocks with Mangan finding Liam Hogan out with who whipped a low ball dangerously across the face of the goal.

A sprayed pass from Harris found Mekki on the flank who cut inside before shooting over. Oliver Norburn then cut out another Hogan cross as Rovers laid siege on the visitor’s goal.

The visiting fans thought they had taken the lead with quarter of an hour to play when substitute Liam Dickinson pinged a 25 yard free kick past Davies but his curling effort had found the outside of the net.

Mangan tried to catch Drench off his line but shot tamely at the busy stopper before desperate appeals for a penalty were waved away by the referee after substitute Tomlinson went to ground in the box.

But in injury time Rovers were awarded a spot-kick when on-rushing Drench brought down Norwood on the edge of the box, who converted the penalty himself in front of a delighted home crowd.

Manager Gary Brabin said: "We deserved it.

"From minute one I thought we played some good stuff, created good chances.

"It would have been easy for us to get frustrated and feel sorry for ourselves because we’ve had some great chances in the first half an hour and then we go a goal down.

“For me it’s a test of character and throughout that the one thing I was absolutely delighted with was we were patient. We played some really good stuff.

"If you take away score line and any negatives we played some very good football.

“We got a good goal at a good time to get an equaliser and I just said to the lads at half time, keep believing."

Match stats:

Tranmere Rovers: 2 Norwood 45, 90+2

Guiseley: 1 Boshell 24

Half time: 1-1

Star man: James Norwood (Striker, Tranmere Rovers)

Attendance: 4,352

Entertainment: 4/5

Ref rating: Karl Evans (9/10)

Tranmere (4-4-2): Davies 8; Hogan 7, McNulty player rating 6, Riley 6 (Maynard 69, 6), Hill 6; Harris 6, Jennings 7, Mekki 7 (Tomlinson 85, NA); Mangan 6, Taylor-Fletcher 6, Norwood 9.

Subs not used: Turner, Sutton, Maynard, Margetts

Guiseley (4-2-3-1): Drench player rating 8, Hurst 7, Lawlor 7, Hall 6 (Lockwood 33, 5), Lowe 6, Boshell 7, Norburn 6, Dudley 6 (Atkinson 79, 5), Rothery 5, Smith 6 (Dickinson 67, 5), Boyes 6.

Subs not used: Brooksby, Craddock

Rovers continue their National League campaign continues with an away match against Woking on Tuesday, kick-off 7.45pm.