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Tranmere hosted AFC Wimbledon yesterday for a 3pm kick-off in their latest fixture in the 2022/23 League Two season.
Ahead of the game, Micky Mellon said, “Like us, [Wimbledon has] done well with a very young group as well. They’ll have a lot of energy and a lot of ambition in their group so it should make for a really good game. We’ll be ready, we’ve had a good week of preparation and we want to grow from last week’s performance so we’re looking forward to it.
“We attack every game and try to win it and if we do the things that we’re capable of doing well then we’ll give ourselves a good chance of getting a result.”
Match Report: Tranmere Rovers v AFC Wimbledon
Tranmere suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon at Prenton Park yesterday afternoon.
It was Rovers that had the first chance at goal with just two minutes on the clock. Paul Lewis tried a shot from the centre of the Wimbledon box, but his effort was saved in the bottom left corner.
However, Wimbledon’s Ethan Chislett opened the score sheet a few minutes later with a shot from a fortunate ricochet at an awkward angle that beat Doohan into the top right corner of his net.
Southampton loanee and fan favourite, Dynel Simeu, was shown the red card after grabbing Harry Pell around the neck and throwing him to the floor in the 30th minute, leaving trailing Tranmere with 10 men.
Two minutes later, Paul Lewis had another punt at the Wimbledon goal but despite being close, his shot from the right side of the box missed to the left.
Tranmere came out for the second half slightly more sprightly and quickly had efforts at goal from Kieron Morris and Neill Byrne.
Things looked like Tranmere could draw level when, at 66 minutes, Wimbledon keeper, Nikola Tzanev, conceded a penalty with a foul on the ever-present Paul Lewis.
Hemmings stood up to take the penalty, but in what can be best described as a feeble effort, his kick down the centre struck the foot of the Wimbledon keeper and was bundled away.
Tranmere’s woes worsened at 88 minutes, when Ayoub Assal’s shot from the left side of the box found the top right corner of Doohan’s net.
Despite an improved performance in the second half, as the final whistle blew, Rovers were on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline.
Tranmere visit Burton Albion on Tuesday 22 November for a 7pm kick off in the EFL Trophy and then visit Northampton Town for a 3pm kick off on Saturday 3 December in their next game of the 2022/23 League Two season.
Match Highlights
Gallery
Fans’ Twitter Reaction
Mellon constantly repeats that we are “developing” players. 8 of the starting 11 played for us last season. Then Lewis the season before. The other 2 are arguably better personnel than last year. Simeu > Clarke. Bristow > Macdonald. The depth on the bench is shocking, but (1/2)— Che Cullen (@checullen2001) November 20, 2022
Mellon constantly repeats that we are “developing” players. 8 of the starting 11 played for us last season. Then Lewis the season before. The other 2 are arguably better personnel than last year. Simeu > Clarke. Bristow > Macdonald. The depth on the bench is shocking, but (1/2)
How are we still 12th and only 5 off the play offs? It's an embarrassingly good position to be in, considering how poor we've been. False like, but just shows how poor League Two is, and under selling ourselves for the first half of a season every year is costing us massively.— Leon Kearney (@TheLeonKearney) November 20, 2022
How are we still 12th and only 5 off the play offs? It's an embarrassingly good position to be in, considering how poor we've been. False like, but just shows how poor League Two is, and under selling ourselves for the first half of a season every year is costing us massively.
I hate all this negativity round the club at the minute 😔 Totally get that people want change though. Just so frustrating that we've recently fell apart after a good run. Really want Micky to turn it around 🙏— Trisha (@tranmeretrish1) November 19, 2022
I hate all this negativity round the club at the minute 😔 Totally get that people want change though. Just so frustrating that we've recently fell apart after a good run. Really want Micky to turn it around 🙏
Hard to sense if a change of manager would make a huge difference, and that's not to say we shouldn't consider what's out there, but the whole club and match day experience seems to be a chore at the moment. Feels like a massive overhaul is needed to avoid deep apathy setting in— Ian Reynolds (@Ian_Reynolds87) November 20, 2022
Hard to sense if a change of manager would make a huge difference, and that's not to say we shouldn't consider what's out there, but the whole club and match day experience seems to be a chore at the moment. Feels like a massive overhaul is needed to avoid deep apathy setting in
Mellon has to go, but it’s scary to think who Palios would bring in, the club is a mess, and it’s only going to get worse… #TRFC #SWA— Matty (@Mattyingle_) November 20, 2022
Mellon has to go, but it’s scary to think who Palios would bring in, the club is a mess, and it’s only going to get worse… #TRFC #SWA
My take on yesterday1st half totally off the pace, couldn't deal with their formation and fell for their antics hook line and sinker. Red card a stupid reaction to the inability of the ref to manage the game properly.2nd half much better, passing quicker and more accurate.— Mike Davis (@rigsby913) November 20, 2022
My take on yesterday1st half totally off the pace, couldn't deal with their formation and fell for their antics hook line and sinker. Red card a stupid reaction to the inability of the ref to manage the game properly.2nd half much better, passing quicker and more accurate.
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Post Match Interviews
Line-ups
Tranmere Rovers– Formation 4-4-21 Ross Doohan GK2 Josh Dacres-Cogley DF3 Ethan Bristow DF5 Tom Davies DF26 Dynel Simeu DF4 Lee O’Connor MF7 Kieron Morris MF6 Chris Merrie MF11 Josh Hawkes MF22 Paul Lewis FW10 Kane Hemmings (C) FW
Substitutes23 Mateusz Hewelt SUB19 Neill Byrne SUB18 Kyle Jameson SUB17 Rhys Hughes SUB16 Jon Nolan SUB27 Jake Burton SUB20 Elliott Nevitt SUB
ManagerMicky Mellon
Match OfficialsReferee: Thomas KirkAssistants: Danny Gratton and Anthony MooreFourth official: Ben Toner
AFC Wimbledon – Formation 4-2-3-11 Nikola Tzanev GK33 Isaac Ogundere DF20 Huseyin Biler DF30 Paul Kalambayi DF12 Ryley Towler DF19 Paris Maghoma MF11 Ethan Chislett MF4 Alex Woodyard (C) MF8 Harry Pell MF10 Ayoub Assal MF9 Josh Davison FW
Substitutes13 Nathan Broome SUB15 Alex Pearce SUB39 Quaine Bartley SUB24 Alfie Bendle SUB6 George Marsh SUB25 Courtney Senior SUB18 Kyle Hudlin SUB
ManagerJohnnie Jackson
Attendance: 6010
League Table
League 2 season attendance
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