Tranmere R 1 - 0 Hartlepool

Weather Report 

A dry match despite some rain in the couple of hours prior to the game.  It was a bit cold in certain parts of the Stadium but overall a decent day for football.

Crowd 

5,418 were inside Prenton Park for this home season opener and it seemed that the visitors were the noisiest for most of the game.

Referee Watch - Jonathan Moss

Another relatively uneventful game for the man in the middle to the extent that he felt the need to get involved in the play twice in the second half by blocking possession for Rovers.  Overall nothing to complain about and some good advantages played when needed - 8/10 

Best Moment 

The highlight of the match was Craig Curran's very well taken goal in the first half although the return of the Main Stand's famous ‘shouty man' after missing a whole season was also good to see.

Worst Moment

Seeing Curran's second goal disallowed was probably the worst moment in the sense that it was frustrating but other than that and the often dodgy methods by Rovers of clearing their lines, there was little to complain about.

Tranmere Man of the Match 

Andy Taylor - Edrissa Sonko showed some class and much needed effort upfront and both Ian Moore and Craig Curran alongside him also did well but Andy Taylor had a fantastic game both in terms of defending and going forward, including his superb cross for Curran's goal which was sadly disallowed.

Connections 

Tranmere played two players who were last year part of the Hartlepool squad in Ian Moore and Godwin Antwi.  Hartlepool had no former Rovers players in their side although midfielder Ritchie Jones was a reported target for Tranmere this summer.

Hartlepool Fans 

The visiting fans appeared to make the most noise and turned up in good numbers.  Sadly for them but thankfully for Rovers, their side couldn't give them anything to sing about by full-time.

Summary 

Another patchy and at times worrying performance but in fairness, the game was the opposite to Tuesday night when Rovers played well and lost 2-0 so to take three points by playing not all that way is a good sign.

Entertainment Value 

The first half was probably even worse than Swindon last Saturday but the second half was much improved and Rovers deserved to win the game after creating a couple of good chances.  7/10 

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