TRANMERE produced a performance of tenacity and enterprise to carve out only their fourth victory of the League One campaign at Prenton Park.
Rovers were full value for a success built on goals from Ian Goodison on 10 minutes and Terry Gornell on 72 and could have won by a wider margin.
They subdued the challenge of a strong and powerful Southend side by playing at a tempo the mid-table visitors were unable to match.
Goodison gave encouragement to sufferers of back pain everywhere. The big Jamaican centre -back clearly wasn’t over the back trouble that forced him out of the 2-1 defeat at Leyton Orient last Saturday but he still played a dominant role at the back for more than an hour and headed home the early goal that gave Rovers such a valuable lift of confidence.
The home side did more than just defend their lead in the second half. After Gornell had added the all-important second, Tranmere powered forward and Ian Thomas-Moore (twice) Gornell and Craig Curran all went close to adding a third goal.
Caretaker manager Les Parry and his players were cheered from the field by the modest crowd at the final whistle.
Parry was able to keep changes down to a reasonable proportion after most of the players who suffered from a bug over the weekend made at least a partial recovery.
He introduced a fresh face in attack with Terry Gornell replacing Ian Thomas-Moore, who dropped to the bench.
Tranmere went ahead on 10 minutes with a goal from a set play routine they had been practising on the training ground this week.
Chris Shuker picked up a corner played short on the left and swept a cross deep beyond the far post, where Gornell nodded it back and centre back Ian Goodison climbed above the pack to head into the roof of the net.
The goal lifted the mood of a small crowd who braved a blustery night. The conditions made control football difficult for both teams and there were untidy passages of play during the first half. Even so, Tranmere were able to maintain the initiative and keep Southend pegged back in their own half for long periods.
