PELL REPLY THWARTS TRANMERE
MICKY MELLON was satisfied with his players’ performance if not the result after Tranmere were denied a victory by Colchester United at Prenton Park.
James Norwood netted his seventh goal in as many matches just before half-time, but an error by goalkeeper Scott Davies allowed Harry Pell to snatch an equaliser for United on the hour and pinch a point for the visitors.
Mellon said: “The performance is good. We played some great football and did some good chances. It’s a good performance all round.
“Obviously were disappointed to go a goal up and give the goal away the way that we did, but we’ve got other chances at the other end that we’ll be very disappointed that we never took.
“But all in all, a good steady performance. We’re growing into the division well and a lot people can be pleased with how they did today.
“I think we know what Colchester’s game plan was – to try and frustrate and slow things down and the ref helped them. There was too much blowing of whistles and a lot of bizarre decisions that was confusing for me.
“They knocked it around endlessly and used the holding player, but what did they do with it? All in all a good performance, great goal and disappointed that we didn’t take another.”
Norwood had a goal ruled out for offside 10 minutes in when he headed home a Zoumana Bakayogo cross, but three minutes before the break he collected the ball on the edge of the box and produced a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
United had a penalty appeal turned down after the break, but equalised on the hour when Davies punched a corner into the path of Pell, who steered the ball into an unguarded net.
Colchester manager and former Tranmere player John McGreal said: “I thought we were well worthy a 1-1 draw. I thought they (Tranmere) were terrific for the first 20 minutes – they’ve come right at us.
“We went with a 3-5-2 and we had to change it. But I thought once we changed it, we killed the crowd, we just kept possession of the ball. “We were not overly purposeful with possession, but we just tried to take the wind out of Tranmere’s sails and I think we did that. “The goal came at the wrong time for us, we had to read just. But I thought the boys second half – possession, territory – we were excellent. (James Norwood) is a class above this division without a shadow of a doubt. You look at what he’s been doing, but when we went to a flat back four, we just killed that space for him. “We had that plan B in the locker. We’ve worked on those two shapes all week.”