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Tranmere visited Colchester United this afternoon in their latest fixture in the 2022/23 League Two season.
Ahead of the game, caretaker manager Ian Dawes said, “We need to try to lift the players, the fans and the Club and try to get the crucial information into them that we need and what we expect from them in and out of possession on Saturday, so we’ve tried to do that this week.
“We’re at that point in the season where we are in the league, so it’s just trying to go and win the next game, and don’t ever move past that, we’ve just got to look at Saturday moving forward.”
Match Report: Colchester United v Tranmere Rovers
League Two strugglers, Colchester managed to salvage a point against Tranmere with a penalty from Noah Chilvers in the second half, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
It will, however, be a game more remembered more the number of yellow cards issued with Carl Boyeson reaching for yellow a total of 13 times, eight of which were for Tranmere players.
Joel Mumbongo and Harvey Saunders teamed up to make a strong start for Rovers, with Saunders taking a low shot inside the box that was saved.
In the 13th minute, Tranmere secured the lead with a goal from Harvey Saunders. He capitalized on Josh Hawkes’ through ball, went past the goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara, and tapped the ball into an empty net.
Tranmere almost doubled their lead when Chris Merrie connected with Rhys Hughes’ corner at the front post, but Kieran O’Hara made a sharp save down to his right-hand side.
The start of the second half was sluggish for both teams and in the 51st minute, Colchester were left outraged as they felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Tovide was brought down by Murphy in the box, but instead, he was booked for simulation.
In the 55th minute, Joel Mumbongo had a notable chance. He fired a powerful strike from 25 yards that unfortunately whistled past the post.
Just after the hour, the home team was awarded a penalty after a long ball into the box caused a tussle between Josh Dacres-Cogley and Tom Hopper, resulting in both players going to ground.
The referee pointed to the spot, and Noah Chilvers stepped up to take the penalty. Despite Murphy getting a hand to it, Chilvers managed to score, equalizing the score.
In the seven additional minutes at the end of normal time, both teams had opportunities to secure a victory.
Regan Hendry carried the ball forward before sending a pass to Jake Burton, who unfortunately hit the side netting with his shot meaning Tranmere had to settle for a share of the points as the final whistle blew.
Tranmere host Harrogate Town for a 7:45pm kick off on Friday 31 March in their next game of the 2022/23 League Two season.
Match Highlights
Gallery
Credit: Tony Coombes
Fans’ Twitter Reaction
A performance/result which I expected. First half was better. I'd like to see the 2nd half stats as I felt we we looked chaotic & they dominated us with chances galore. Murphy saved us a good few times too. A point was fair. But it just confirms this team is what it is. Average.— Leon Kearney (@TheLeonKearney) March 25, 2023
A performance/result which I expected. First half was better. I'd like to see the 2nd half stats as I felt we we looked chaotic & they dominated us with chances galore. Murphy saved us a good few times too. A point was fair. But it just confirms this team is what it is. Average.
We remain 17 points above the drop but now 12 off the top seven…Slap bang in the middle of nowhere. One game closer to the end of a dreadful season. #TRFC— Craig Perkins (@CraigPerkins17) March 25, 2023
We remain 17 points above the drop but now 12 off the top seven…Slap bang in the middle of nowhere. One game closer to the end of a dreadful season. #TRFC
Why do we always take Hawkes off when he's probably the only one capable of doing anything? MM now Dawes done it, strange #trfc #swa— Paul Ricci (@RicciTRFC) March 25, 2023
Why do we always take Hawkes off when he's probably the only one capable of doing anything? MM now Dawes done it, strange #trfc #swa
This referee should never ref again @FA_PGMOL #colu #trfc— Lesley Murray (@les_murray71) March 25, 2023
This referee should never ref again @FA_PGMOL #colu #trfc
Up the whites✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/FjptiEB0In— Zak Hayes (@ZakHayes6) March 25, 2023
Up the whites✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/FjptiEB0In
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Post Match Interview
Line-ups
Colchester United – Formation 3-4-1-213 Kieran O’Hara GK29 Connor Hall DF15 Fiacre Kelleher DF4 Luke Chambers (C) DF22 Junior Tchamadeu MF30 Al-Amin Kazeem MF17 Ossama Ashley MF14 Noah Chilvers MF19 Alex Newby FW34 Samson Tovide FW25 Tom Hopper FWSubstitutes12 Tom Smith SUB2 William Greenidge SUB42 Jayden Fevrier SUB20 Matt Jay SUB16 Arthur Read SUB24 John Akinde SUB11 Freddie Sears SUB
ManagerBen Garner
Match OfficialsReferee: Carl BoyesonAssistants: Stephen Brown and Scott WilliamsFourth official: Damith Bandara
Tranmere Rovers – Formation 4-1-2-1-213 Joe Murphy GK2 Josh Dacres-Cogley DF3 Ethan Bristow DF5 Tom Davies (C) DF14 Jordan Turnbull DF6 Chris Merrie MF24 Regan Hendry MF11 Josh Hawkes MF17 Rhys Hughes MF26 Harvey Saunders FW25 Joel Mumbongo FWSubstitutes23 Mateusz Hewelt SUB4 Lee O’Connor SUB34 Florent Hoti SUB33 Jay Turner-Cook SUB27 Jake Burton SUB19 Logan Chalmers SUB32 Samuel Taylor SUB
ManagerIan Dawes
Attendance: 3420
League Table
League 2 season attendance
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