Tranmere hosted Rochdale this afternoon for a 3pm kick-off, in their latest fixture of the 2021/22 League 2 season.
Ahead of today’s match, Micky Mellon said, “I’m always very cautious, because up until now, the season’s gone well. We’ve found a way of scoring goals, found a way of defending well, which will always give you a chance.
“We’re going to keep trying to improve, and keep trying to find the consistency. That’s what the challenge is now, is to keep going with what we’re doing and get better at it. When you get better at it, the least you want is to be consistent at it.
“You also don’t want to drop below your standards and your levels, so we’ll keep working hard on that, and stay tough on ourselves. Keep facing forward, and keep going.”

Tranmere Rovers 2 | V | 0 Rochdale |
---|---|---|
Jolley (3′, 16′) | Goals | |
Dacres-Cogley (16′) | Assists |
Two early goals from Charlie Jolley secured three points for Tranmere in their win over visitors Rochdale at Prenton Park this afternoon.
Fans didn’t have to wait long for Jolley’s first, with not even three minutes on the clock. A poor pass from Rochdale keeper Joel Coleman was intercepted by Jolley, who fired an unstoppable ball into the top corner of the net much to the delight of the home fans.
Jolley’s second came in at 16 minutes, when he found a wide-open space in the box and turned a curling ball into the visitors’ net.
The Rochdale team started to find their feet after Jolley’s second goal, but didn’t really make any progress or break through Tranmere’s stubborn play.
A rejuvenated Rochdale took control from the beginning of the second half, wrong-footing Tranmere and apparently denting their confidence and bravado.
Happily for home fans, Rochdale totally failed to take advantage of their large share of possession and some excellent goalkeeping by Ross Doohan ensured that Tranmere took all three points.
After the game, Micky Mellon said, “We’re respectful to Rochdale. I always find the games against them really difficult, because they play in a certain style that makes it difficult for you.
“You know that you’ve got to get a lot of the stuff right and when the time comes, come out on top of duels and things and then when you get the ball back you’ve got to be good with it and go and punish them and that’s what we did.
“The second half I thought we controlled it, we showed it all over the pitch to make sure we tried and got over the line, it was fabulous.”
Tranmere visit Crawley Town for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday 22 January in their next League 2 fixture.
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Tranmere Rovers – Formation 4-4-2
25 Ross Doohan GK
2 Josh Dacres-Cogley DF
3 Calum MacDonald DF
5 Tom Davies DF
26 Peter Clarke (C) DF
8 Jay Spearing MF
7 Kieron Morris MF
22 Lee O’Connor MF
21 Joshua McPake MF
12 Charlie Jolley FW
10 Kane Hemmings FW
Substitutes
13 Joe Murphy SUB
23 Joseph Maguire SUB
11 Liam Feeney SUB
17 Sam Foley SUB
14 Callum McManaman SUB
6 Chris Merrie SUB
20 Elliott Nevitt SUB
Manager
Micky Mellon
Referee
Ben Toner
Rochdale – Formation 3-4-3
33 Joel Coleman GK
12 Jeriel Dorsett DF
6 Eoghan O’Connell (C) DF
17 Paul Downing DF
14 George Broadbent MF
3 Aidan White MF
7 Stephen Dooley MF
23 Liam Kelly MF
19 Josh Andrews FW
10 Alex Newby FW
11 Conor Grant FW
Substitutes
1 Jay Lynch SUB
4 Jimmy McNulty SUB
5 Max Taylor SUB
24 Ethan Brierley SUB
20 Danny Cashman UB
16 Matt Done SUB
18 Abraham Odoh SUB
Manager
Robbie Stockdale
Attendance: 7046
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