Ronnie Moore refuses to blame referee for defeat

May 5 2008

RONNIE MOORE described referee Gavin Ward as being “over- zealous” in dismissing Ian Goodison for a second bookable offence at the Sixfields Stadium.

But the Tranmere manager did not blame the official for 2-1 defeat to Northampton that saw his team drop to 11th place in the final League One table.

Moore said: “I thought the referee looked miles out of his depth but that’s not to deflect from our performance. That performance probably showed why we are not in the play-offs this season.

“The away form has cost us dear and so has lack of discipline. Both of them were evident today.”

Tranmere’s 11th defeat of the league campaign became inevitable once Goodison had become the seventh player to be dismissed this season with the team already trailing 2-1 in the 79th minute.

Goodison’s first offence, early in the second half , appeared to be for holding on to the ball after a free-kick had been awarded to the opposition. The second occurred when Goodison, attempting to shepherd the ball out of play, tangled with Northampton midfielder Ryan Gilligan.

Moore said: “Goodison was trying to stop the lad (Gilligan) from keeping the ball in play and the lad whacked him from behind. The linesman got involved but I think it just needed a bit of common sense with the referee having a word with them. I think he was an over-zealous official.

“You’ve got to be superhuman to win games with 10 men these days and it happened to us too often this season.”

The dismissal meant Goodison, Tranmere’s player this season, will start the next campaign with the one match suspension.

Moore was once again left to rue Rovers’ failure to convert possession and pressure into chances and goals, and admitted the final ball into the Northampton box lacked quality.

He said: “We had the possession and passed the ball around well but the quality of the crossing from right and left, wingers and full- backs, was poor.”

Five defeats in the last seven games saw Rovers finish 11 points adrift of the play-off places.

Moore said: “I don’t think our final position is a true reflection of our season. But it doesn’t really matter if you finished seventh or 12th, the top six is where you want to be.”

Moore, whose contract runs out this summer, still does not know whether he will be given an extension to have another crack at taking Tranmere into the Championship next season.

There is no official word from the club on the manager’s future or last week’s revelations in the Daily Post that Portuguese group Best Holdings have been discussing a possible takeover at Prenton Park.