Hall 16, 80

Hume 29

McAteer 45

Whitmore 60

                        Attendance: 8401

In the end Rovers never appeared to be in any real danger in the game as two excellent goals inside the opening half hour from firstly Paul Hall and then Iain Hume, were followed on the stroke of half time by a fantastic strike from Rovers captain Jason McAteer to give the boys in white their most comfortable half time lead this season at 3-0.

There was little let up from the home side after the break as the excellent Theodore Whitmore scored on the hour before Paul Hall added his second and Tranmere’s fifth ten minutes from time.  There was still time for Paul Hall to grab his hat-trick but his penalty after substitute Chris Dagnall had been impeded was tame and easily saved by Peterborough goalkeeper Mark Tyler.

Despite scoring the winner from off the substitutes bench at Hartlepool last week, Chris Dagnall remained on the bench for this match and was joined there by Eugene Dadi whose starting place was taken by Jamaican Theodore Whitmore.  This was because Brian Little opted for a 3-5-2 wingback formation with Hume playing upfront with Hall just behind him and a three man midfield of Rankine, McAteer and Whitmore.  Dagnall and Dadi were joined on the bench by Russell Howarth, Danny Harrison and Paul Linwood.

Tranmere began the stronger and the players showed some clever touches and at times some slick passing moves.  John Achterberg was called into action early on though as a Mark Arber header from looked almost cetainly goalbound but the big Dutchman palmed the ball over the bar to save his team.  Gareth Roberts also blocked a shot from Woodhouse.  For Rovers, Jackson, Hall and Taylor all had early chances that were off target.

On sixteen minutes though, Tranmere were in front with an excellent goal almost out of nothing.  A long ball forward from John Achterberg was met by the salmon-like Iain Hume whose flick on fell nicely for Paul Hall and his low angled finish easily beat keeper Tyler to give Rovers a deserved lead.

Just before the half hour mark the dominant hosts made it 2-0 after excellent work on the right edge of the Peterborough penalty area from Theo Whitmore who wormed his way into space and poked the ball across the edge of the area to Iain Hume whose first time shot curled through the fingertips of a helpless Tyler.  That second Rovers goal of the night led to an obviously pre-painted set of letters spelling ‘FRY OUT’ to be displayed in the Cowshed end before being removed by police and stewards to a chorus of boos from the Tranmere fans.

At 2-0 there was the always the possibility of a Posh comeback but a crucial third effectively ended the game as a contest.  Iain Hume was again the provider as he chested a Garteh Roberts pass into the path of Jason McAteer and the captain drilled a low first time shot past the goalkeeper to give Tranmere a half time lead that they have hardly been used to recently.

Peterborough made a half-time change in personnel bringing on Andy Clarke for Wayne Purser but they still failed to make much of an impact on the game.

The home side got a fourth on the hour as Theodore Whitmore was found by yet another clever pass from Iain Hume and though the Jamaican still had a bit to do he made the space to angle his shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Brian Little threw on Chris Dagnall Theo Whitmore and then eight minutes later Danny Harrison replaced the excellent Iain Hume.  Harrison had been on the field for only two minutes when he flashed a header wide of the goal with only Tyler to beat.

Tranmere’s last goal came with ten minutes remaining and is likely to be a contender for goal of the season.  Reminiscent of Andy Parkinson’s wonderful solo goal against Middlesbrough some years ago, Paul Hall picked the ball some 40 yards from goal and began a run that took him past several defenders and to the edge of the penalty area from where he unleashed a shot into the bottom right corner for a truly fantastic goal.

There was still time for more drama as Chris Dagnall, a 69^th minute substitute for Theo Whitmore, was fouled on the edge of the area and referee Andy Hall gave a penalty.  Regular penalty taker Ryan Taylor placed the ball on the spot and looked set to take the kick but boos from the Kop behind that goal and shouts from the Rovers dugout lead to Taylor stepping aside and allowing Paul Hall to try for his hat-trick.  As always seems to happen in these situations, Hall failed to score as Tyler guessed the right way to push Hall’s awful penalty kick away to safety.

Peterborough began slowly to create a few chances and Achterberg had to be alert to make a second good save of the game from a Curtis Woodhouse free-kick on 87 minutes as the pressure increased slightly as Tranmere sat back.  Peterborough couldn’t find a way through however as Tranmere’s organised defence held firm. 

Huge cheers at the final whistle summed up a satisfying evening for the home fans whose side have for the time being leapfrogged Sheffield Wednesday into third place and closed the gap on Hull City to seven points with the same games played although Hull play tomorrow in a difficult away tie at play-off chasing Bournemouth leaving Rovers with a game in hand over the Tigers once more.

Next up for Rovers is Chesterfield away in the first of an Easter double header next Saturday (March 26^th), followed by Doncaster at home on Easter Monday (March 28^th).

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