TRANMERE Rovers are now rooted to the bottom of npower League One following another disappointing away defeat.
A terrible start proved Rovers’ undoing at unbeaten Colchester United, with Les Parry’s side conceding three goals inside the opening 30 minutes.
Goals from David Mooney, Anthony Wordsworth and Magnus Okuonghae, which all originated from set-pieces, left Tranmere with the proverbial mountain to climb at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
And although striker Enoch Showunmi restored some pride for the visitors with nine minutes to go – the striker’s fifth goal in seven matches – it was all too little, too late.
Rovers have now lost two and drawn two of their opening four matches on their travels.
And manager Parry will no doubt be looking for a much-improved showing tomorrow night, when they travel to play mid-table Bristol Rovers.
Tranmere made one change to their starting line-up for their visit to Essex.
Youngster Dale Jennings made his first Rovers start in attack, with the injured Sam Morrow dropping out.
Ian Thomas-Moore, Adam McGurk and Paul McLaren, who have all been sidelined by injury of late, were named on the bench.
A swirling wind made life difficult for both sets of players.
But it was Colchester who coped best with the blustery conditions.
Parry had warned his players before kick-off to be wary of conceding unnecessary free-kicks and set-pieces in dangerous areas.
So he was probably right to feel annoyed when the U’s took the lead from one such set-play in the seventh minute.
Jennings was only able to partially clear away Wordsworth’s corner and after David Perkins had fired back into the area, Mooney gobbled up the loose ball and shot decisively past keeper Peter Gulacsi from 12 yards.
Only a good save by Gulacsi prevented Paul Reid’s header from extending Colchester’s lead soon after, from another Wordsworth corner.
But Tranmere fell further behind in the 16th minute.
After John White had been fouled on the right edge of the area, Wordsworth curled a delightful 20-yard free-kick inside the near post to beat Gulacsi, for his third goal of the season.
In truth, Tranmere were very ordinary in the first half, squandering possession too easily at times and struggling to cope with Colchester’s attacking threat.
Rovers had a big physical presence but were unable to make it count and despite their height advantage, failed to deal with the majority of the U’s set-pieces.
Colchester gave themselves further breathing space on the half-hour mark.
Another Wordsworth free-kick was volleyed into the turf by Andrew Bond at the far post, allowing defender Okuonghae to head the rebound home virtually unchallenged from five yards.
Tranmere did threaten to pull a goal back just before half-time when Colchester skipper Kem Izzet’s midfield interception almost allowed Showunmi a clear run on goal.
But U’s goalkeeper Mark Cousins spotted the danger quickly and was able to clear.
Parry resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time and Rovers improved marginally in the second-half.
However, keeper Gulacsi denied Ashley Vincent just after the break and the introduction of Thomas-Moore from the bench failed to inspire the visitors.
Joss Labadie’s long-range effort from a short free-kick flew well over, as Rovers desperately searched for a route back into the game.
But Colchester looked just as likely to add a fourth goal and Andy Bond might have done better when he blasted substitute Kayode Odejayi’s pass over from close range.
It looked like Tranmere might fall further behind with 11 minutes to go when skipper Ian Goodison pulled Odejayi in the area and referee Phil Crossley pointed to the spot.
But on-loan keeper Gulacsi, who was impressive throughout, dived to his right to save Wordsworth’s penalty.
Seconds later, Rovers did manage a goal when Showunmi finished neatly past Cousins, after his run had been picked out by Labadie’s pass.
However, only a good save from Gulacsi prevented Odejayi from restoring Colchester’s three-goal advantage a minute before the end, as Tranmere slid to a comprehensive defeat.
