TRANMERE show welcome signs of finding an appetite for retrieving losing positions in the early days of 2012.
Rovers’ success rate in games in which they fell behind was less than impressive in the first half of the season but the New Year appears to have injected some resolution into the dressing room.
Les Parry’s team fought back gamely after taking a first half mauling at Sheffield Wednesday last Monday that had 24,000 Hillsborough fans sweating on the final whistle after halving the deficit in the second period.
Five days later Tranmere found themselves trailing again at the interval, to Brentford. And while they trailed by just a single goal and the opposition not quite as imposing as the second placed Owls, the Prenton Park faithful were left in no doubt that during the first 45 minutes that the Bees carried enough sting finish the home team off.
They were held at bay by some dogged, last-ditch defending, two exceptional saves by the on-loan goalkeeper Paul Rachubka and then pegged back to 2-2 by an own goal.
On the balance of possession and pressure the result was about right. Brentford had more clear-cut scoring opportunities and could not make the advantage pay because of Rachubka’s athletic interventions.
The introduction of Ian Goodison into the heart of a hard-pressed Tranmere defence during the final 25 minutes was also significant.
Goodison is less than fully recovered from a hamstring injury but the Jamaican’s know-how and experience steadied and stiffened Rovers’ resistance to the potent forward partnership of Clayton Donaldson and Gary Alexander.
The pair, showing strength, pace and combining effectively, scored a goal apiece in the first half and pushed around Tranmere centre backs Mark McChrystal and Ash Taylor.
On this evidence the Londoners’ climb to the edge of the play-offs is no fluke. Given Brentford’s impressive record on the road – they have lost only twice in 12 away games – a draw looks like a decent result for Tranmere.
When the teams first met at Griffin Park at the end of August, Rovers were so effective in denying the opposition the opportunity to play that the home strikers hardly had a sniff of an opportunity.
This game was a good deal more open at both ends and made for compelling entertainment.
At the end you were left with the impression that Rovers are still some way from being the mean machine they were in the early months of the season.
Now the pattern of the team’s creative play is liable to alter over the coming weeks because José Baxter said farewell to the dressing room on Saturday evening.
