Tranmere Rovers 1 – 3 Oldham Athletic: Big day out for Latics ends in big win

This was one of the good days. Latics were dominant: craftier, harder-working, more resolute and more ruthless than their opponents, better man-for-man, better as a team.

Micky Mellon must be absolutely purring at how his team are playing just now.

TRANMERE 1

Obiero 90+5

OLDHAM 3

Fondop 22, Kavanagh 45+7, Stevens 75 (pen)

Neither side had been up to much in the opening 20 minutes, until a fairly innocuous diagonal long ball from box to box from Manny Monthé. Mike Fondop was off after it, but either one of Nathan Smith and Stephan Negru were favourites to get there first. Smith let it bounce and Negru let Fondop run ahead of him. Fondop turned on it and did a beautiful no-look loft over Joe Murphy in the Tranmere goal.

The neck injury Negru suffered in the 23rd minute should have put an end to his afternoon but, after a lengthy while he received treatment, he played on for another five minutes before he threw in the towel. Donervon Daniels also received treatment for a head injury, meaning the first half was elongated by some 13 minutes.

Latics ended it with another well taken, intelligent goal. Will Sutton’s throw-in down the line was headed on by Fondop. Kavanagh found Stevens, whose directness causes all sorts of problems for defenders. He attracted three of them to the ball before playing Kavanagh through on goal with no one around him. Kavanagh’s first-time shot wasn’t exactly a piledriver (and Murphy got a fingertip on it), but there was enough on it to get it across the line.

Latics were enjoying the second half. They threatened with their industry rather than with chances. They hustled, harried, played for each other, went back and forward as team, organised and disciplined. There simply was no way through for Tranmere.

The third goal resulted from the game’s most controversial moment, which came from a Tranmere corner and a rapid Latics counter-attack.

Kavanagh put Kane Drummond through – he was on the halfway line but, as the fastest player on either side, he was through on goal. Drummond’s first two touches were okay, but as he got close to the decisive moment, he shinned it, giving Murphy in the Tranmere goal a better-than-evens chance of reaching it first. Murphy went down and got his hands to the ball, Drummond probably (and totally inadvertently) kicked him in the head…and the referee gave Latics a penalty. Murphy had about 10 minutes of treatment, was clearly dazed and was taken straight off on a stretcher, to be replaced by Jack Barrett.

Stevens stuck the penalty away (he’s Latics’ cleanest striker of the ball) – sending it right down the middle while Barrett dived to his right. 

The goal of the game went to Tranmere’s Zech Obiero, who turned on the ball and curled it from 18 yards beyond Hudson, off the post and in. Hudson could do nothing about it to preserve his incredible run of shut-outs – he’s not far off the season record held jointly by Les Pogliacomi and Connor Ripley.

The Latics end was bouncing – some of the more masochistic among them would have been at this ground for the dead rubber at the end of the 2021-22 season, when an already relegated Latics were beaten 2-0. It was one of the most miserable games in the history of the club. The Tranmere fans were not sympathetic back then, and the Latics fans could not give two hoots for Tranmere now they’re the ones swirling the plughole.

Tranmere Rovers: Joe Murphy (Jack Barrett 71), Patrick Brough, Nathan Smith, Omari Patrick, Jason Lowe (Cameron Norman 74), Lewis Warrington (Sol Solomon 46), James Plant (Max Dickov 73), Stephan Negru (Aaron McGowan 34), Joe Ironside, Zech Obiero, Nohan Kenneh

Subs not used: Billy Blacker

Oldham Athletic: Mat Hudson, Tom Pett (c) (Kane Taylor 90+3), Donervon Daniels, Manny Monthé, Ryan Woods, Mike Fondop (Joe Garner 84), Jack Stevens (Josh Hawkes76), Kane Drummond (Oli Hammond 84), Will Sutton, Calum Kavanagh (Kai Payne 83), Jamie Robson

Subs not used: Tom Donaghy, Dynel Simeu