Tranmere Rovers boss unhappy with 'sloppy' performance after defeat by Lincoln

Lincoln City...................1 

Tranmere blew the chance to return to the top of the National League and instead handed the imitative to their opponents, as they were stunned by Lincoln City at Prenton Park.

Despite dominating the majority of the match, Rovers could not find the net and they paid a costly price when Macauley Bonne struck the only goal for the Imps in the 68th minute.

Gary Brabin recalled Lee Vaughan and Jay Harris in place of Liam Ridehalgh and Adam Mekki as Tranmere looked to put last week’s first defeat of the season to Aldershot behind them.

Good work from Rovers stretched Lincoln in the ninth minute and a parallel run from Harris found James Norwood who saw his shot deflected wide.

Striker Andy Cook attacks for Rovers

Steve Jennings found the head of Maynard from the resultant corner but his effort went straight into the hands of Paul Farman.

That was as good as it got for quarter of an hour, as both teams proved to be wasteful with the ball. In the main part, Tranmere were happy to play the ball out from the back on the deck, but with limited return.

Scott Davies was sprung into action on 25 minutes when he tipped a Luke Waterfall header round the post in a rare foray forward from Lincoln.

Steve Jennings appeared to be pushed over in the box before Connor Jennings fired his namesake’s chest down over the bar from 18 yards.

Tranmere wanted a penalty just past the half hour mark when Alex Woodyard appeared to handle another cross from Vaughan but the referee wasn’t interested and instead went on to book Harris for a meaty challenge on Bradley Wood.

Striker Connor Jennings on the ball for Tranmere Rovers against Lincoln City 

Rovers had largely bossed the opening 45 minutes but their big guns up front were firing blanks.

A cross from Norwood was punched clear by Farman after the break with substitute Jake Kirby breathing down his neck as Tranmere went in search of a winner.

A sweeping move driven by Norwood and Jeff Hughes saw a hole open up for Steve Jennings on the edge of the Dee but instead of trying his luck on goal, he blundered an over hit pass to Kirby and the chance was gone.

Lincoln were lying in wait though and when Bonne shrugged off the attention of the Rovers defence he drilled at shot on goal that Davies punched out for a corner before heading the subsequent set piece over the bar.

Tranmere didn’t heed the warning and on 67 minutes the Imps took the lead. Terry Hawkridge got in round the back behind Hughes and his cross was smashed into the roof of the net by Bonne.

Striker Connor Jennings on the ball for Tranmere Rovers against Lincoln City

Brabin responded by bringing on Darren Stephenson for Cook and he wasted no time forcing a low save out of Farman.

As the home contingent became ever more frustrated, Mekki was introduced for Harris in the hope of salvaging something from the game.

Stephenson was trying hard to impress, running at the Imps’ defence and he eventually won a free kick on the edge of the box with five minutes to play.

But Mekki’s effort sailed harmlessly over and with it Tranmere’s unbeaten home record as they faced up to a second successive league defeat.

Davies tipped a curling Harry Anderson effort wide late on before the Tranmere goal keeper came up for a corner and headed Steve Jennings’ cross just wide.

There would be no dramatic finale however, just frustration as supporters were left to ponder what was a poor team performance from Rovers.

Brabin said: “We’ve had a good opportunity here to go back to the top of the league and for whatever reason we haven’t taken it.

“We’ve mentioned a few things that we didn’t think were good enough today. Certainly holding the ball up in the final third. We were very, very sloppy today.

“I’ve said (to the players) do we want this? Can we handle this? First half we’ve dominated and should’ve had two penalties.

“But when decisions go against you you’ve just got to dig in and I felt second half we’ve fallen below that standard.

“We should be coming off unhappy that we’ve not been able to play with more conviction in the final third.”

The result propelled Lincoln to top of the league with 21 points and saw Tranmere slip to third with a tally of 19.

Rovers will travel to York on Tuesday. Kick-off will be at 7.45pm.

Match Stats:

Tranmere Rovers 0

Lincoln City 1, Bonne 67

Half time: 0-0

Star man: Darren Stephenson (Tranmere, midfielder)

Attendance: 5,274

Entertainment: 2/5

Ref rating: Martin Coy (7/10)

Tranmere (4-3-3): Davies player rating 7, Vaughan 6, McNulty 7, Ihiekwe 7, Hughes 5; Harris 6 (Mekki 80, 5), Maynard 5, S Jennings 5; Norwood 6, Cook 5 (Stephenson 70, 6), C Jennings 6 (Kirby 46, 6).

Subs not used: Turner, Ridehalgh

Lincoln (4-4-2): Farman player rating 8, Beevers 7, Waterfall 7, Raggett 7 Habergham 7, Hawkridge 6; Wood 8 (Power 80, 6), Woodyard 7, Arnold 6 (Anderson 66, 6); Rhead 6, Bonne 8 (Marriott 76, 6).

Subs not used: Muldon, McCombe