TRANMERE took an early repayment from the experienced players signed during the summer in the form of the three points they took away from Brisbane Road on Saturday.
David Buchanan and David Raven, seasoned recruits with more than 200 senior games apiece behind them, were introduced on either side of the back-line to steadying effect on Les Parry’s team.
Left-back Buchanan added the bonus of a spectacular winning goal, fired into the top corner of the net from 30 yards range, an hour into the contest.
No-one could claim it was entirely out of the blue as the former Bury and Hamilton Academicals player scored with a similar long-range strike in a friendly against Liverpool a couple of weeks ago.
Buchanan’s goal could not have been the winner without an exceptional save from goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams, another recent recruit, that prevented Orient taking the lead through Jamie Cureton a few minutes earlier. So Rovers started the away program in League One in the same manner as they finish the last one, with a win at Leyton Orient. This was a different kind of success to the 3-0 success in April, a result that effectively wrecked Orient’s hopes of making the play-offs.
There was precious little between the teams here. Fon Williams’ save from Cureton was as important as the goal that followed six minutes later because Orient were building up momentum to take the initiative in the first quarter hour of the second half.
Home manager Russell Slade could justifiably claim the game might easily have gone the other way at that point.
The changes Parry made to the side well beaten by Championship pass masters Doncaster in midweek had the effect of making Tranmere’s football a little more measured and steady. They kept the ball better when playing out from the back than they did at the Keepmoat Stadium and the return of Enoch Showunmi helped them to build attacks in a more cohesive fashion.
Showumni holds the ball up better than most centre forwards at League One level – hence the rejection of Notts County’s £125,000 offer last week. No-one in the Rovers dressing room is likely to be carried away by victories in the first two league games. The defeat at Doncaster was good for perspective. But as Parry pointed out, at least Tranmere won’t be burdened by reminders about how long it took them to the post first home and away wins of the campaign. The jobs were done day one, eight o’clock.
Orient are by no means a modest scalp. Seventh-placed finishes last season, they punched above their weight in a manner Rovers hope to do in this campaign.
