Defeat with honour

Not one pundit gave Rovers a chance, but they had the temerity to equalise when down to 10 men and drew on their last reserves of energy to produce a barn storming finish which had the Premier Leaguers hanging on grimly.

In the end, the Merseysiders paid dearly for lack of concentration at corners which led to both Leicester goals.

The first went in off the underside of the bar. Tranmere in the last minute hit the top of the bar through Scott Taylor. It was as close as that to extra-time.

But another 30 minutes would have been a life sentence for Rovers.

Clint Hill will have nightmares over his Wembly experience. It was a long walk to the tunnel as he endured his fourth sending-off this season.

It was a direct red card from substitute referee Phil Richards, who had replaced the injured Alan Wilkie after 58 minutes.

I am still convinced it was the right decision, especially after watching the television replays.

Unfortunately, Hill had been shown a yellow card in the first-half for a reckless challenge. Whether referee Wilkie would have dismissed him in the 63rd minute for a challenge on Emile Heskey will never be known.

Don't blame Hill for the defeat. He and Dave Challinor for the most part had been excellent against Heskey and Co.

Fittingly, skipper for the day David Kelly gained the Tranmere goal. It was his eighth in the competition and he took the Worthington Top Scorer award. But Kelly afterwards could not hide his disappointment. "Coming second at Wembley is no fun," he admitted.

Leicester, to be fair, were always the better side and skipper Matthew Elliott with both goals took the Man of the Match award on a day when his wife was scheduled to give birth to possibly a future soccer hero.

The Rovers players will cherish the memory of a Wembley experience even though it produced bitter disappointment. They could all hold their heads high and some of them might grace a new look Wembley in the future.

Leicester boss Martin O'Neill admitted: "It was difficult. We knew it would be. To win the game and the cup is something special."

Tranmere did not experience that 'special' feeling, but the players and the fans have experienced six matches against Premier League sides in a few months. It has been fun and well done to everyone at Prenton Park.

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