TRANMERE brought down League One high-flyers Scunthorpe United with a fiercely competitive performance at Prenton Park last night.

Goals by Ed Sonko on 41 minutes and Ryan Shotton on 74 secured a victory that showed that Ronnie Moore’s team had overcome the worst of the debilitating flu bug that hit them over the weekend.

A strengthened and reshuffled line-up combined moments of enterprise going forward with determined defending. They also had to thank goalkeeper Danny Coyne for a trio of crucial saves from Gary Hooper in the face of persistent second half pressure from the visitors.

Scunthorpe, the League One leaders until they were beaten by Leicester City last Saturday showed some of their attacking teeth in the second half but were not allowed the freedom to play at their best.

Tranmere kept the visitors in check by maintaining their discipline and were always inventive enough going forward to threaten a goal.

Tranmere’s starting line-up including a couple of surprises. Ian Goodison made it back from Jamaica where he attended the birth of his son, to take station at the heart of the defence.

And teenager Terry Gornell, recalled from a loan spell from Accrington Stanley on Monday, made his League One debut as a striking partner for Bas Savage in a 4-4-2 formation.

Gornell won his chance because experienced front man Chris Greenacre was ruled out by a back injury and winger Chris Shuker became the latest victim of the flu bug to hit the club.

Ian Moore’s knock down gave Gornell a half-chance on the edge of the box in the 16th minute but the 18-year-old could not make a clean connection with his shot.

Tranmere went closer when midfielder Mark Wilson and Savage combined to send Ryan Shotton galloping into space down the right. The full-back’s fierce low shot from the edge of the box crept just past the left hand post.

Tranmere dominated the first half territorially but, like the visitors struggled to find the consistency in passing to put together penetrating attacks.

So the entertainment value of the action did not always quite match up to the positive intentions of the two teams, with most of the action squeezed into the middle third of the pitch.

However, four minutes before the interval Tranmere broke the stalemate with a move that by-passed the congested central midfield.