NO-ONE on the home side of the fence at Prenton Park could find a crumb of sympathy for Brighton on Saturday evening. They were all too busy enjoying the ironic reversal of fortune that delivered a valuable and timely League One victory for Tranmere.

After going out of two cup competitions to heartbreaking last-minute goals over the last fortnight, Rovers and their followers could argue they were cashing in on an overdue repayment of luck when Antony Kay plundered his injury-time winner.

Brighton’s sense of injustice was deepened by the denial of a strong penalty claim less than two minutes before the goal. Few of the 4,885 spectators in the rain-shrouded ground would have been surprised had referee Scott Mathieson pointed to the spot when John Johnson’s challenge toppled Stuart Fleetwood as the Brighton substitute prepared to shoot from close range in the 90th minute.

But Mr Mathieson waved play on and while Seagulls manager Micky Adams and his staff were still complaining to the fourth official, Rovers put together the move that broke the deadlock.

Adams complained afterwards: “Stuart Fleetwood was about to side-foot the ball into the back of the net and had his legs taken from under him. The referee will get a match DVD and he will see it was a penalty and he will be disappointed he has not given it. All I can do is mark him down on major decisions because that was a major decision.”

Kay’s goal condemned Brighton to a sixth successive league defeat and increased the pressure on the experienced Adams.

Yet until those dramatic closing moments it was Tranmere’s Ronnie Moore who endured most flak from the spectators – much of it misinformed and misdirected – as his side toiled to break a three-game losing streak of their own.

Moore had to listen to barrack room advice such as “sort it out” or “you don’t know what you’re doing” whenever an individual made a mistake on the heavy, sodden surface. Fortunately, Moore knew exactly what he was doing.

The decision to substitute striker Chris Greenacre with Mark Wilson on 73 minutes was roundly booed. But the introduction of the on-loan midfielder helped Tranmere to regain control of the play at a time when the visitors held the upper hand and probably won the game for them.

When the well-travelled 29-year-old returns to Doncaster this week he can consider the 20-minute cameo to be one of the most valuable of his five appearances for Tranmere.

Rovers just about deserved to claim the points on the balance of a tight contest.

A day of incessant rain made conditions underfoot difficult for the passing football both teams attempted to play. Tranmere’s movement and enterprise served them well until they reached the final third of the field. Then the ball into the box was often poor, with many crosses being cut out by the first defender or hit well beyond the target area.

Brighton were more cautious in the first half, adopting a 4-5-1 formation that ensured they had ample defensive cover. Adams clearly insisted on a more ambitious and aggressive approach after the interval when Brighton’s formation became 4-3-3 and forced the home side to do some last-ditch defending.

The game’s first chance took 41 minutes to arrive and fell to Greenacre after Brighton goalkeeper John Sullivan had pushed out a fierce 30-yard drive from Kay. Greenacre’s instinctive header from the rebound found the side netting.

Two minutes later Dean Cox, breaking past Ian Goodison through the inside right channel, saw goalkeeper Danny Coyne touch away a low shot aimed towards the far corner.

Brighton’ experienced front man Nicky Forster enjoyed some success against a groggy Ian Goodison, who left his sick bed to play. Three minutes after the restart Forster took a pass from Adam El-Abd and fired a shot into the side netting. Forster then forced Coyne to parry another effort and his neat pass set up Bradley Johnson, whose shot from the edge of the box glanced off the right-hand post.

The alarm bells were beginning to ring for Tranmere at this point as the visitors stretched them out. Wilson’s arrival helped to turn the midfield tide and saw Ian Moore pushed further forward to fill Greenacre’s role in supporting Bas Savage in attack.

Within five minutes of his arrival Wilson saw a shot deflected narrowly wide and Kay’s powerful header from a cross from Andrew Taylor was well saved by the sprawling Sullivan.

A back pass by Taylor left Tranmere exposed in the last-minute of normal time. Substitute Fleetwood looked odds-on to score from Glenn Murray’s cross until toppled by Johnson’s challenge.

Two minutes later Tranmere’s persistence in pushing forward was rewarded as Ian Moore made the most of shooting opportunity 25 yards from goal with a fiercely struck effort that slapped against the inside of the upright. Chris Shuker’s effort from the rebound was blocked by Sullivan but the second loose ball ran for Kay to smash jubilantly home from close range.