TRANMERE left behind the makings of a promising performance with the half-time teacups at a Brisbane Road – and paid the price with a defeat that dropped them to bottom place in League One.

Rovers’ second meeting with Leyton Orient in five days had much more going for it as a spectacle than the FA Cup replay between the teams.

The crowd was bigger, by a factor of 300%, the atmosphere was better and during the first 45 minutes the football played by both teams was a good deal more enterprising than on Tuesday. They were rewarded with a goal apiece, with Scott McGleish’s 24th-minute opener for the home side answered within five minutes by Charlie Barnett’s equaliser.

Orient maintained their bright form during the second half while Tranmere lost the confidence and momentum. Instead matching the home side for positive intent they surrendered the initiative and conceded the deciding goal to another strike from McGleish on 70 minutes.

No wonder caretaker manager Les Parry was as puzzled as he was disappointed by Tranmere’s fade-out.

Parry knew Tranmere could expect the home side to raise their game after being booed off the field at the end of the Cup replay. The impact of returning loan players Andros Townsend and Luke Summerfield – who were declined permission to play the cup tie – was significant.

Townsend gave Orient a creative edge down the left they conspicuously lacked earlier in the week while Summerfield helped the midfield to become more cohesive. He cajoled a more effective contribution from midfield partner Shaun Thornton. Rovers also benefited from a returning player. John Welsh, back at the heart of the midfield after suspension, was energetic and combative throughout.

Tranmere’s resources were stretched thin at the back. Marlon Broomes started the game at right-back because specialist Shaleum Logan was unavailable through injury and Gareth Edds through sickness.

Even that arrangement was compromised on 28 minutes when Ian Goodison went off with a back injury. Broomes had to switch to the heart of the defence alongside Ash Taylor while Aaron Cresswell, a specialist left-back, was deployed at right-back.

The result was a young defensive back line that wasn’t as balanced or as tall as it could be. They coped pretty well in the circumstances.

The imbalance of the squad continues to create difficulties for Parry. John Barnes left behind many more attackers and midfield players than defenders and when a few of the boys at the back go missing, there is precious little cover available.

A second problem that has to be grasped by whoever takes long-term charge of team affairs – whether it be Parry or a new arrival – is the team’s lack of firepower.

Barnett’s well taken goal was only the third Tranmere have scored in nine League One games on the road. It is no wonder the away defeats are piling up. This was the eighth.

The evidence of the first half suggested Tranmere might be able to break the pattern on a grey, wet afternoon in east London.

They had to do some defending in the opening 20 minutes when Orient began brightly. Strikers Ryan Jarvis and McGleish missed the target following good work by Townsend, who fired a dangerous cross just in front of Jarvis on the quarter hour.

Rovers looked as if they had ridden out the little storm and began posing a threat of their own. Right-back Zoumana Bakayogo found a burst of pace that took him past Orient full-back Stephen Purches into the box on the left in the 20th minute. The defender’s final shot was well wide of the target however.

Three minutes later Chris Shuker seized on a half clearance by Ben Chorley and fired a snapshot wide of the target from 15 yards.

A cleverly-crafted move and a clinically executed finish delivered Orient’s opener. A deft pass by Townsend sent McGleish into space through the inside left channel and the little striker took the chance early, driving his shot from the edge of the box hard and low into the bottom corner. It was a goal that would have graced the Premier League.

Tranmere responded positively. No sooner had Goodison departed the action, they snatched the equaliser.

Barnett’s goal was the work of a poacher.

The little midfielder hooked home a rebound as it bounced up at an awkward height off goalkeeper Glenn Morris, who was unable to hold a well struck half volley by Welsh.

Good work by Shuker and Paul McLaren set up the busy Welsh for another long-range effort that went just too high on 37 minutes, then McLaren fired a dipping volley from the edge of the box wide of the target.

Rovers’ spell of dominance might well have been broken when Jarvis sneaked through the offside trap in first half injury time. He attempted to take the ball around goalkeeper Luke Daniels, who stayed on his feet and forced the striker so wide that the chance was lost. Orient were allowed to crank up the pressure after the break when Tranmere no longer posed a threat going forward.

Townsend looked the most likely to open the visitors’ defence but it was Thornton who provided the decisive cross from the left following a half cleared corner. McGleish escaped his marker at the near post to guide the chance expertly home with an outstretched boot.

Summerfield should have added a third goal in injury time but fired over.