Tranmere visited Boundary Road this evening in their first fixture of the EFL cup.

Ahead of the game, Micky Mellon said, “Oldham is always a difficult place to go and we’ll expect nothing different going there this time. We know it will be a tough game and we’ll have to get a lot right to win the tie. We’ll go out there and attack it like we always do.”

Oldham Athletic 2(4) – Tranmere Rovers 2(3)

It also proved to be Rovers’ last game of the season in the EFL cup, losing 4-3 on penalties.

Tranmere were 2-0 up following goals by Foley and Nevitt either side of halftime, but a goal for Oldham’s Bahamboula and a Tranmer own goal by Davies set the scene for the match to be decided with a penalty shoot-out.

Elliot Nevitt scored on his debut and played with guts and determination throughout. Sam Foley and Joe Maguire had their first competitive starts for the Club, as did Ross Doohan in goal.

Tranmere’s first goal came at the 40-minute mark when Paul Glatzel played a dainty ball into the path of Sam Foley who slid the ball into the far corner.

Tranmere went two goals ahead in the 52nd minute when Elliot Nevitt chested down a cross and smashed it into the back of the net.

Oldham reduced Tranmere’s lead in the 59th minute when forward, Dylan Bahamboula took full advantage of a ball supplied by Jamie Bowden, turning it into the net from inside the penalty area.

Oldham drew level when their free-kick by Davis Keillor-Dunn took a deflection off Tom Davies, resulting in an own goal.

The scoreline remained the same for the remainder of the game and it was to be decided on penalties.

Jay Spearing scored from the spot first, followed by Oldham’s Sam Hart to keep it all level. Then, a left-footed shot from Paul Glatzel was saved in the bottom left corner. Davis Keillor-Dunn followed by Kieron Morris each made theirs count.

The visiting fans must have been having palpitations after Oldham’s Kyle Jamesonprodeuced a very poor, over the bar effort. But, Peter Clarke taking Tramnmere’s next penalty had his shot saved in the bottom left corner.

Jack Stobbs for Oldham and Emmanuel Dieseruvwe for Tranmere each converted from the spot, but Nicky Adams made his right-footed shot count and Tranmere were out.

Tranmere’s next outing is a visit to Port Vale for their second game of the League 2 season on Saturday 14 August.

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