Tranmere hosted Hartlepool United this afternoon at Prenton Park for a 3pm kick-off, in their latest fixture of the 2021/22 League 2 season.
Before the match, Micky Mellon said of Hartlepool’s promotion to League 2, “Well of course we’ve experienced that ourselves, the excitement of coming back into the Football League from years in Non-League football.
“So we know you get a bounce from that, We’ve watched enough of them to know they’ll be a tough game for us. They’re a team that’s used to getting results, we know what that was like when we came up, it can become a really good habit, to have a group that knows how to do that.
“But we believe that we will have enough if we do what we know we can do in order to try and win the game.”

Tranmere Rovers 1 – Hartlepool United 0
An 89th-minute goal from Tom Davies secured three points for Tranmere as they beat Hartlepool 1-0, their first league victory since the opening day of the season.
Hartlepool were dominant throughout the game and threatened the Tranmere goal in the first 45 when Jamie Sterry’s strike hit the post.
Davies’ headed goal meant Rovers finished strongly to grab all three points at the very end of the game.
Tyler Burey was a constant threat to the Tranmere defence during the first half.
The second half was much the same for Hartlepool, with pressure constantly applied in the Tranmere half. The visitors made a double change after Burey pulled his hamstring.
Moments later, Goodwin missed a golden opportunity when he guided Sterry’s cross just wide of the post.
In a game that Tranmere fans won’t remember for its beautiful play, but the last-minute Davies goal was nicely executed as he rose to meet substitute Josh Hawkes’ cross to win the game.
Tranmere visit Rochdale in their next League 2 fixture on Saturday 11 September for a 3pm kick-off.
These fans express their opinion on today’s game…
Tranmere Rovers – Formation 4-4-2
13 Joe Murphy GK
2 Josh Dacres-Cogley DF
4 Nathaniel Knight-Percival DF
5 Tom Davies DF
26 Peter Clarke (C) DF
8 Jay Spearing MF
10 Ryan Watson MF
21 Mark Duffy MF
7 Kieron Morris MF
18 Nicky Maynard FW
20 Elliott Nevitt FW
Substitutes
25 Ross Doohan SUB
11 Liam Feeney SUB
17 Sam Foley SUB
15 Josh Hawkes SUB
14 Callum McManaman SUB
6 Chris Merrie SUB
16 Paul Glatzel SUB
Manager
Micky Mellon
Referee
Chris Sarginson
Hartlepool United – Formation 5-3-2
1 Ben Killip GK
2 Jamie Sterry DF
3 David Ferguson DF
23 Zaine Francis-Angol DF
4 Gary Liddle DF
16 Neill Byrne DF
6 Mark Shelton MF
8 Nicky Featherstone (C) MF
14 Gavan Holohan MF
7 Tyler Burey FW
11 Will Goodwin FW
Substitutes
35 Jonathan Mitchell SUB
5 Timi Odusina SUB
20 Reagan Ogle SUB
28 Matty Daly SUB
10 Luke Molyneux SUB
18 Martin Smith SUB
24 Olufela Olomola SUB
Manager
Dave Challinor
Attendance: 6707