Tranmere Rovers - Who needs a lemon when we've got Mellon!

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Tranmere vice captain Steve McNulty scored twice, as Tranmere saw off Eastbourne Brough to progress to the FA Trophy quarter finals.

Match Highlights

[video=youtube;J3pE3qPDESM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3pE3qPDESM[/video]

Final Score: Eastbourne Boro 1-2 Tranmere.

Starting Lineups

Eastbourne Boro: Carey, Hare, Simpemba (Khinda-John 45), Pino, Stone (McCallum 45), Uade, Hughes (Sutton 45), Smith, Summerfield, Kayembe, Adekunle.
Subs Not Used: Platt, Taylor.

Goals: Stone (20).

Tranmere: Davies, Vaughan, Ihiekwe, McNulty, Clarke (Coker 45), Ridehalgh, Harris, Maynard, C Jennings (J Hughes 86), Cook, Stockton (Norwood 70).
Subs Not Used: Pilling, S Jennings.

Booked:
Clarke, Vaughan, Ridehalgh, Harris, Maynard.

Goals: McNulty (pen 32), (pen 55).

Match Statistics

Referee: C Brook.
Shots: Eastbourne Boro 13 - 21 Tranmere
On Target: Eastbourne Boro 3 - 9 Tranmere
Possession: Eastbourne Boro 44% - 56% Tranmere
Corners: Eastbourne Boro 4 - 16 Tranmere
Fouls: Eastbourne Boro 9 - 22 Tranmere
Attendance: 583 (282 away).
 
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Tranmere have been drawn at home to National League South side Welling in the FA Trophy 4th round, the tie taking place on the 25th February.

The two sides met twice last season in the National League, a season which saw Welling suffer relegation to the National League South. They did manage to take four points off Tranmere over the course of the two games, the two sides drawing 1-1 at Welling and Welling winning by two goals to one at Prenton Park.

The full draw

Boreham Wood vs Torquay
Whitehawk vs Wrexham
Tranmere vs Welling
Lincoln vs Ebbsfleet
 
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Tranmere have confirmed the loan signings of Alex Honeyball and Zak Vyner from Bolton and Bristol City respectively.

Zak Vyner is a centre back who has joined on loan from Bristol City. So far in his career, Vyner has 4 appearances in the Championship for Bristol City. Earlier this season, Vyner had a 6 month loan spell at League Two Accrington Stanley. During that loan spell he played a total of 14 games.

Alex Honeyball has joined on loan from Bolton. The 19 year old is in the under 23 development squad but has yet to make a first team appearance for the League One side.

In an interview on the Tranmere Rovers official website, manager Micky Mellon said:

"I'm delighed to be able to welcome Zak and Alex to Prenton Park and I would like to thank Phil Parkinson and Lee Johnson for allowing them to join us on loan. They are both young, talented and desperate to play first team games. They will definitely improve on the squad we already have here at Prenton Park and I have no doubts that they'll help to shore up our defence."
 
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Tranmere striker James Norwood scored twice as Tranmere eased to a 3-1 win at home to Bromley to increase their lead at the top of the National League.

[video=youtube;Up6ILPI2La0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up6ILPI2La0[/video]

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Tranmere: Turner, Vaughan (Coker 88), Fitzwater, Honeyball, Vyner, Shaw, Maynard, S Jennings (Tombides 78), Tollitt, Norwood, Cook (Mangan 65).
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh.

Booked: Vyner, Vaughan.

Bromley: Julian, Syme, Swaine, Holland (Goldberg 71), Okito, Turgott (Prestedge 65), Porter, Minshull, Dennis (Chorley 68), Cunnington, Sho-Silva.
Subs Not Used: Bogard, Martin.

Booked: Syme, Minshull.

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Referee: I Hussin
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 5,290 (72 away)
Possession: Tranmere 64% - 36% Bromley
Shots: Tranmere 16 - 8 Bromley
On Target: Tranmere 9 - 2 Bromley
Fouls: Tranmere 16 - 8 Bromley
 
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Tranmere striker Kevin Lisbie has been ruled out for several months after picking up a double hernia in training.

Lisbie joined Tranmere earlier on in the season and has scored 7 goals in 15 appearances for the club, the majority of which coming from the bench.

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon told the press that the injury probably spelled the end of Lisbie's short Tranmere playing career.

"It's a real shame for Kevin. Unless Kevin is able to recover before the end of the season, that will probably be the end of his time here. Kevin is a superb player and a great man to have around the club but at 38, even he will admit that his better playing days are behind him, especially given the striking talent we have at the club."

"I'm going to approach him about the possibility of taking a coaching course and seeing how he feels. Probably the only way he will stay is as a player/coach as he isn't going to be a regular starter for us and we need to continue to plan towards the future."
 
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Tranmere suffered their 3rd loss of the National League this season, Eastleigh wining by two goals to nil at the Silverlake Stadium.

[video=youtube;TGMWlppv7RM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGMWlppv7RM[/video]

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Eastleigh: Huddart, Barry, Cresswell, Johnson, Moseley, Coulson, Drury (Reason 72), Muldoon, Howells, Brewster, Mandron (Constable 61).
Subs Not Used: Clarke, Essam, Bird.

Booked: Howells.

Tranmere: Turner, Vaughan, Fitzwater, Honeyball, Vyner, Shaw, S Jennings, Wallace (Collins 45), Tollitt, Norwood (Mangan 45), Cook.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Coker, Ridehalgh.

Booked: Jennings, Norwood, Fitzwater.

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Referee: S Barrow
Stadium: Silverlake Stadium
Attendance: 1,727 (442 away)
Possession: Eastleigh 39% - 61% Tranmere
Shots: Eastleigh 12 - 20 Tranmere
On Target: Eastleigh 6 - 7 Tranmere
Fouls: Eastleigh 10 - 14 Tranmere
 
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Tranmere captain Steve Jennings has apolgised to the fans after 10 man Tranmere were beaten 2-0 by Eastleigh on Saturday.

Speaking after the game, Jennings was less than impressed with Tranmere's performance.

"We've let the fans down today and for that I apologise. We were not good enough and should have got more out of the game. Credit where it's due, Eastleigh deserved to win but our performance was shocking. We couldn't hit the target, we couldn't string a pass, it was like we were a different team compared to the one that's usually played this season. It's up to us to bounce back against Boreham Wood on Tuesday now."

Jennings also backed teammate Jack Fitzwater to bounce back after his red card.

"Jack was distraught in the dressing room after the game. He's made a mistake out there an he's in bits but he'll be back. Jack is a quality player and West Brom are lucky to have him signed up. He's young and he'll learn from this, he will take the feeling he has at the moment and make sure to never make the mistake again. He'll be back better than ever."
 
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Callum Harris put in an inspired performance, to earn Boreham Wood a 1-1 draw, away at run away National League leaders Tranmere.

[video=youtube;pWMYpo-Fc3U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWMYpo-Fc3U[/video]

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Tranmere: Turner, Vaughan, Honeyball, Vyner, Coker, Shaw, Wallace, S Jennings (Tombides 67), Tollitt, Norwood, Cook (Mangan 79).
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh, Ihiekwe.

Booked: Vaughan, Jennings, Shaw.

Boreham Wood: Tupper, Wolfenden, Devera, Barbir (Paine 67), Ilesanmi, Clifford, Davis (Jeffrey 82), Harris (Shakes 72), Andrade, Balanta, Elford-Alliyu.
Subs Not Used: Smith, Uchechi.

Booked: Clifford.

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Referee: A Hutchinson
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 4,795 (15 away)
Possession: Tranmere 53% - 47% Boreham Wood
Shots: Tranmere 20 - 11 Boreham Wood
On Target: Tranmere 12 - 3 Boreham Wood
Fouls: Tranmere 23 - 21 Boreham Wood
 
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Tranmere top scorer James Norwood has committed his future to Tranmere after signing a new deal that runs until the end of the 2018/19 season.

Norwood, who joined Tranmere from Forest Green in 2015, would have been a free agent in the summer had he not signed a new deal and manager Micky Mellon was keen to renew Norwood's contract. So far this season, Norwood has been banging in the goals and looks set to beat the National League record for goals in a season.

"I'm delighted that James has signed a new deal," said Mellon after Norwood put pen to paper.

"James has been absolutely unbelievable so far this season and I was really worried that we were going to lose him to a bigger club, especially given his goal tally this season. I'm relieved that he's agreed to stay with us and that we've got a deal sorted and I'm looking forward to seeing him score a lot more goals in the future."
 
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Tranmere are into the FA Trophy semi finals following a 2-0 extra time win over Wlling at Prenton Park, Taylor Tombides and Andy Mangan getting the goals.

Match Highlights

[video=youtube;t3BgMrt6QnU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3BgMrt6QnU[/video]

Final Score: Tranmere 2-0 Welling AET

Starting Lineups

Tranmere: Turner, Vaughan, Fitzwater, Honeyball, Vyner (Coker 108), Shaw, Jennings, Collins (Tombides 69), Tollitt, Norwood (Mangan 69), Cook
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh.

Goals: Tombides (98), Mangan (120).

Welling: Lewington, Marsh-Brown, Leacock, Smyth, ***, Joesph-Dubois (Walker 64), Fuseini, Verde (Hatton 76), Morgan, Crawford, Smith (Slabber 69).
Subs Not Used: Carey, Nelson.

Booked: Fuseini, Marsh-Brown.

Match Statistics

Referee: D Cook.
Shots: Tranmere 30-4 Welling
On Target: Tranmere 8-1 Welling
Possession: Tranmere 68%-32% Welling
Corners: Tranmere 9-4 Welling
Fouls: Tranmere 14-12 Welling
Attendance: 4,306 (81 away).
 
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Tranmere will face bitter rivals Wrexham in the semi finals of the FA Trophy.

The two sides have met just once this season with Tranmere taking the win with a 3-2 victory. Wrexham did get one over on Tranmere in last year's FA Trophy, knocking Rovers out with a 4-2 win at Prenton Park.

The first leg will be played at Wrexham on the 11th of March with the second leg being played at Prenton Park on the 18th of March.

The full draw is as follows:

Lincoln vs Boreham Wood
Wrexham vs Tranmere
 
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Tranmere winger Ben Tollitt was the match winner for Tranmere, his goal giving them a 1-0 win over Forest Green at Prenton Park.

[video=youtube;kQNp1DL1Lyw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQNp1DL1Lyw[/video]

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Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Fitzwater, Vyner, Honeyball, Shaw, Wallace, S Jennings (Tombides 75), Tollitt, Cook (Mangan 66), Norwood.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh, Coker.

Booked: Shaw, Wallace.

Forest Green: Maxted, Bennett, Hughes, Osho, Field, Charles-Cook (Frear 50), Traore, Noble (Edun 56), Chemial, Robert, Murphy (Tubbs 5).
Subs Not Used: Lefebvre, Kelly.

Booked: Noble, Traore.

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Referee: C Lymer
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 4,937 (49 away)
Possession: Tranmere 64% - 36% Forest Green
Shots: Tranmere 15 - 9 Forest Green
On Target: Tranmere 5 - 3 Forest Green
Fouls: Tranmere 20 - 11 Forest Green
 
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Tranmere took the spoils in their local derby with Chester, James Norwood and Andy Cook giving the Merseysiders a 2-1 win.

[video=youtube;u7Y-NfVXSOM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7Y-NfVXSOM[/video]

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Chester: Roberts, Helm, Hudson, Ellesley, Mdford-Smith, Hughes (Mahon 45), Lea (Vicars 54), Durrell, Smith, Lloyd (Akintunde 45), Babos.
Subs Not Used: Morton, Horwood.

Booked: Ellesley, Vicars.

Tranmere: Davies, Vaughan, McNulty, Fitzwater, Coker (Honeyball 68), Ridehalgh, Harris, Tombides, Tollitt (Mangan 73), Norwood, Cook.
Subs Not Used: Turner, Wallace, Buxton.

Booked: Harris.

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Referee: J Johnson
Stadium: Lookers Vauxhall Stadium
Attendance: 5,453 (1,200 away)
Possession: Chester 44% - 56% Tranmere
Shots: Chester 13 - 7 Tranmere
On Target: Chester 4 - 3 Tranmere
Fouls: Chester 13 - 17 Tranmere
 
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Tranmere winger Ben Tollitt has told the Globe that Tranmere are ready for their FA Trophy semi-final 1st leg tie away at Wrexham.

"It's a massive game," Tollitt told the Globe.

"It's a semi-final of a cup where the finalists play at Wembley so it's a massive deal for us as a club and as players. We are desperate to win it and have our day out at Wembley in May. It's important that we go out there and remember that the tie is over two legs and can't be won or lost in the game at Wrexham. That said though, we're ready for the game and we'll be looking to take a lead back to Prenton Park."

"Wrexham are one of our local rivals so our fans will definitely be a massive influence on the game. I think we've sold out so we should have over a thousand there cheering us on. I can't stress enough just how important the fans are at games like these. They are our 12th man and their support really helps us push on and get the results we want."
 
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Tranmere have an advantage going into the FA Trophy semi-final second leg, after beating Wrexham by two goals to one at the Racecourse Ground.

Match Highlights

[video=youtube;qzT09epSlDM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzT09epSlDM[/video]

Final Score: Wrexham 1-2 Tranmere.

Starting Lineups

Wrexham: Jalal, Carrington, Wynter, Bainbridge, Evans (Newton 78), Wintle, *** (Bencherif 78), Rooney, Clarke (Gillett 63), Harvey, McDonagh.
Subs Not Used: Dunn, Riley.

Booked: ***, Wintle, Gillett.

Goals: Wintle (64).

Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Honeyball, Vyner, Fitzwater, Shaw, Wallace, Jennings (Tombides 87), Tollitt, Cook (Mangan 87), Norwood (Ridehalgh 39).
Subs Not Used: Davies, Coker.

Booked:
Jennings, Buxton, Shaw, Ridehalgh, Wallace.

Off: Shaw (39).

Goals: Cook (4), Tollitt (8).

Match Statistics

Referee: A Quelch.
Shots: Wrexham 14 - 13 Tranmere
On Target: Wrexham 5 - 7 Tranmere
Possession: Wrexham 42% - 58% Tranmere
Corners: Wrexham 4 - 5 Tranmere
Fouls: Wrexham 9 - 15 Tranmere
Attendance: 7,589 (1,075 away).
 
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Tranmere manager Micky Mellon was delighted to see his side gain the advantage in their FA Trophy Semi Final 1st Leg tie against Wrexham but stressed that the tie wasn't over.

Tranmere went into the match as favourites, despite the first leg being played at Wrexham. Andy Cook and Ben Tollitt gave Tranmere an early two-goal lead before Wintle hit back for Wrexham, the game ending 2-1. That means that Tranmere will take a 2-1 lead back to Prenton Park where they'll be heavily backed to progress to the FA Trophy final.

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon spoke of his delight at the result in an interview with BT Sport after the match.

"That couldn't have gone any better really," said the Scot.

"We dominated the match from start to finish and that is exactly what we wanted to do. We thought that it wasn't going to be easy before the game but unfortunately Wrexham didn't do themselves justice at all. We were first to every loose ball, quicker in the tackle and by far the better team in front of goal. The only downside is that the lead we have isn't greater than it is."

Despite the result, the Tranmere boss insisted that the tie wasn't over.

"We know that the tie isn't over, we cannot become complacent after that result. Wrexham are a good team, they wouldn't have got this far if they weren't, but they had an off day today. In the 2nd leg, it could be completely different and we have to make sure that we remain professional and get the job done in the second leg."
 
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James Norwood scored the winner, as Tranmere took all three points with a 1-0 win over Dover at Prenton Park.

[video=youtube;dsVKLf-Y7vI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsVKLf-Y7vI[/video]

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Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Fitzwater, Vyner (McNulty 72), Honeyball, Ridehalgh, Wallace (Tombides 72), Jennings, Tollitt, Cook, Norwood.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Mangan, Coker.

Dover: Walker, Magri, Kent, Da Graca (Lelan 72), Thomas, Hines, Moore, Logan (Dasilva 51), Barnes, Emmanuel (Miller 60), Umerah.
Subs Not Used: Arnold, Rosenthal.

Booked: Magri, Moore, Thomas.

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Referee: C Hicks
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 4,854 (40 away)
Possession: Tranmere 58% - 42% Dover
Shots: Tranmere 19 - 5 Dover
On Target: Tranmere 7 - 2 Dover
Fouls: Tranmere 7 - 17 Dover
 
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