Tranmere R  1 - 0  Blackpool     

Charlie Barnett 29                                                                                                   

Match Referee - Lee Mason

With Tuesday's friendly test against Premiership opposition falling foul of the weather very late on, today was the first chance for many Rovers fans to see some of the new signings in action and it was the most recent signing of them all that provided the winning goal as Rovers deservedly beat Championship side Blackpool at Prenton Park.

There were a number of absentees for Rovers with Danny Coyne, Chris Shuker, Chris Greenacre, Gareth Edds, Ian Moore and Godwin Antwi all watching from the Stands but in spite of this Rovers put in a commendable performance which once again was pleasing to the eye and more than worthy of the victory it resulted in.

Latest signing Charlie Barnett was in the starting line-up for Rovers as Ronnie Moore's starting eleven looked like this....

Achterberg

Goodison Kay Chorley Taylor

Jennings O'Callaghan Barnett

Curran Savage Sonko

The injury to Danny Coyne saw promising young goalkeeper Peter Kennedy take a place on the bench as understudy to John Achterberg.

Although the game got off to a slow start, Rovers looked comfortable against their higher level opponents with Barnett and Jennings performing well in the midfield whilst both Craig Curran and Bas Savage appeared lively upfront.

Curran got a clear view of goal and when his shot was saved, Bas Savage was unable to net the rebound when it fell for him as Rovers pressured the visitors.

It wasn't all one sided though as hesitation from John Achterberg at the other end allowed a shot at the Rovers goal by Blackpool captain Ian Evatt which to be fair to the big Dutchman was well saved low on the floor by his outstretched hand as Ben Chorley then hoofed to the safety of the stand under pressure.

As has been much the norm in pre-season so far for Rovers, the football was neat, the passing incisive at times and most importantly played on the floor when it needed to be and it was that style of play that helped Rovers take the lead just seconds after that Achterberg save with a team goal that will struggle to be bettered for the rest of this season.

It was the perfect counter-attacking goal as the ever impressive Charlie Barnett broke clear in midfield and played the ball out to Sonko who seemingly without looking up (although I am informed he did), sprayed the ball across the onrushing Craig Curran who could probably have shot but unselfishly laid the ball off to Charlie Barnett who slotted home to give Rovers the lead.

Just five minutes later, Blackpool's Liverpool loanee Adam Hammill almost equalised but his shot went wide of Achterberg's left hand post and out for a goal kick as the half ended 1-0 to Rovers.

HALF-TIME: TRANMERE ROVERS 1 - 0 BLACKPOOL

In the opening minute of the second half, Blackpool's left-back was lucky to remain on the field after an awful challenge on Ian Goodison which saw him only receive a yellow card for his troubles for a challenge which seemed much worse than the one which saw Paul Henry dismissed for Rovers at Morecambe last Saturday.

There had been no half-time changes for either side but the alterations weren't long in coming as the second half progressed as the visitors made three changes just ten minutes into the half just a minute after they should have equalised.

A mistake from Ian Goodison allowed the chance for McPhee but Achterberg was once again equal to it and saved Rovers' and Goodison's bacon.

After that chance, the game went through a quiet period in terms of chances but the home side were still more than matching their Championship opponents before Ronnie Moore made some changes of his own with 19 minutes left, bringing on Adnan Ahmed and promising youngster Terry Gornell for Charlie Barnett and Edrissa Sonko.  Gornell's appearance was his first at Prenton Park for the full Rovers team.

Shortly after coming on, Ahmed almost created a goal for Bas Savage with a free-kick from the right hand edge of the penalty area but the big striker headed into the side netting before Terry Gornell headed over shortly afterwards.

With twelve minutes remaining, Aaron Cresswell replaced Andy Taylor for his own first first-team start at Prenton Park and although the left-back looked a little nervous early on, he went to create two excellent crosses which couldn't be put away as Rovers looked to put the game to bed.

Four minutes after Cresswell's appearance, Paul Henry replaced George O'Callaghan in midfield for what turned out to be Rovers' final substitution of the afternoon.

Ahmed was proving a handful in the final minutes of the game as he first created another chance for Terry Gornell and then should have settled the game late on himself but the ball was taken from his feet before he could get the shot in.

The 1-0 victory was deserved by Rovers and the manner in which they played gives much encouragement to the fans ahead of the season opener at Swindon next Saturday afternoon.

Rovers now face Cammell Laird FC on Monday night and then the youngsters face Flint Town United away on Wednesday night to close the pre-season campaign for another season.

FULL-TIME - TRANMERE ROVERS  1 - 0  BLACKPOOL

Rovers Team:

Achterberg, Goodison, Chorley, Kay, Taylor (Cresswell 78), Jennings, Barnett (Ahmed 71), O'Callaghan (Henry 82), Sonko (Gornell 71).

Subs Not Used - Kennedy, Holmes, Waterfall

Ben Chorley

Whilst Barnett once again looked quality in midfield along with Steven Jennings, the defence were also excellent and Chorley, who already has a pre-season Man of the Match Award to his name, just pipped his central defensive partner Antony Kay to the Award - but not by much!

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