Match report League 2 – Oldham Athletic 0, Tranmere Rovers 1

Spirits must be high at Prenton Park, following Rovers’ fifth straight victory in the league and boss Keith Hill’s third in a row since taking over.

The game started a little late after there appeared to be some confusion over Oldham’s home kit colours – Tranmere’s Twitter feed stating, “We think the delay in kick off was Oldham changing into their away kit.”

James Vaughan headed the only goal of the game at 27 minutes, beating the Oldham keeper Ian Lawler, in a busy penalty area. This was Vaughan’s 11th goal of the season in all competitions and only added to Oldham’s woes who have won only once at home all season.

Vaughan’s goal, which came from a cross by Liam Feeney, put Tranmere ahead. The visitors nearly doubled their lead in the 71st minute when Feeney’s free-kick was headed off the line by the hosts’ Dylan Fage.

At 40 minutes, the injured Kaiyne Woolery is replaced by Danny Lloyd.

Oldham were close to opening the scoring when Danny Rowe curled in a cross which found the head of Ben Garrity, who was unlucky to see his attempt drift narrowly wide.

Tranmere also forced Lawlor into late saves from Otis Khan and Danny Lloyd, while Oldham failed to properly test Rovers goalkeeper Scott Davies throughout.

With Tranmere now standing at 7th position in League 2, Keith Hill said, “They showed the side of what you need to be a successful team.” He added, “I like the way Oldham play but I’m really pleased with the outcome and the way the players dug in again. It’s another clean sheet and I’m pleased that the players are questioning their standards at half-time and questioning each other. You can control a game without the ball, and I think we’ve seen that tonight. They’re [Oldham] a dangerous side and we just, tactically, got the better of them.”

✊ Keith Hill’s Super White Army.#TRFC #SWA pic.twitter.com/CZptmDUeHG

— Tranmere Rovers FC (@TranmereRovers) December 1, 2020