By A.Higgins
March 1 2014
Tranmere earn a point against North West neighbours Oldam Athletic after goals from Jason Koumas and League 1 top scorer Ryan Lowe scrape a 2-2 draw at Prenton Park...
A flow of positivity went around Prenton Park prior to kick off, but that was soon drained after a shaky start. The Latics had a handful of chances in the first half including a shot from Danny Philliskirk which took a deflection off of Stephen Arthurworrey but Owain Fon Williams reacted promptly and gathered the ball at his right hand post. The visitors soon took the lead when a quickly taken throw in found James Wesilowski who smashed home from the edge of the area.
Tranmere seemed to wake up a bit after a lacklustre defensive display lead to the opening goal and ended up getting an equaliser less than twenty minutes later when Jason Koumas' first time shot deflected off of Jonathan Grounds and looped over Oldham keeper Mark Oxley who was helpless. Rovers came close twice after the equaliser with Steven Jennings who missed a shot from 30 yards whilst Stephen Arthurworrey came close with an overhead kick.
Rovers started the second half looking the better of the two teams, retaining possession well and forcing an attack when Stephen Arthurworrey headed over the bar from a Jason Koumas corner.
However, Lee Johnson's men soon re-took the lead when a Danny Philliskirk shot fell to Ash Taylor who's clearance struck Liam Ridehalgh and rolled into the Rovers net.
Not long after Jason Koumas was substituted for Jake Kirby (which didn't go down well with the Tranmere faithful) as Rovers opted for a 4-4-2 formation. Despite the displeasure felt by the supporters, Tranmere were soon level with less than fifteen minutes to go when Jake Cassidy expertly controlled a Danny Holmes clearance before crossing for Ryan Lowe who scored his 17th goal of the season to make him the league top scorer.
Match rating: ***
Goal scorers: Tranmere- Koumas ('31), Lowe ('76) Oldham- Wesilowski ('12), Ridehalgh (OG) ('59)
Key players: Steven Jenning, Jake Cassidy, Ryan Lowe
