All that glitters is gold for Tranmere
A GOLDEN oldie helped Tranmere Rovers overcome problems off-the-pitch and kit clashes on it to keep their relegation fight in their own hands.
Evergreen Ryan Lowe tapped in his 20th of the season to give Rovers a precious three points and push Colchester United into the dogfight.
But Lowe and his teammates had to secure the crucial three points in Colchester’s own away kit – an all-gold number – after the fourth official deemed there would be too much of a clash.
Coming just days after manager Ronnie Moore was charged with multiple breaches of the betting rules, assistant boss John McMahon was delighted with how his side overcame another hurdle.
McMahon said:“That’s the way the season has gone.You think you are turning the corner but there is always someone there with a big sledgehammer saying ‘have a bit more of that’.
“We spoke to the referee before the game and he was fine with it, but the fourth official wasn’t and said he didn’t think he could distinguish between the blues. Some of the kit was ill-fitting – it was unbelievable.
“I said to the lads afterwards that we have six more mountains to climb but these lads will keep digging in and keeping fighting for it.”
Colchester should have been out of sight before Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro gave the visitors a surprise 36th minute lead.
Tranmere keeper Owain fon Williams saved his side on three separate occasions, the most giltedged chance wasted by Jabo Ibehre whose shot lacked power.
Akpa Akpro, the best player on the pitch, showed far more composure when presented with a similar opportunity to open the scoring.
But Colchester ensured parity was restored at the interval after Freddie Sears finished off a fine move involving Dominic Vose.
But it was Tranmere who and claimed the points in the 63rd minute when 35-yearold Lowe poked home a rebound after Akpa Akpro had bamboozled poor Gavin Massey.
Despite remaining just away from the bottom four Colchester boss Joe Dunne admitted his side were in a rut.
He said:“We lost a match we should have won. The players were really up for it and people could see that.We should have been three-up.
“We’re running out of games and in very serious trouble.We’re down and being stamped on, but we haven’t been relegated yet.
“There are still lots of points left to play for and a couple of wins would still do it.”