ROVERS MEAT THEIR MATCH
Wind-up backfires
BY IAN WHITTELL TRANMERE tried to wind up Rob Edwards’ vegan-friendly league leaders with a playlist of meat-related songs.
There was even a lengthy homage to recently-deceased rocker Meat Loaf thrown in.
But Forest Green Rovers tasted blood and rammed in four goals to open up a 10-point lead over their nearest rvals.
Not that their star defender Jordan Moore-Taylor is in the mood for counting his chickens just yet.
He said: “Yes, 10 points is a big margin but we are only one bad run away from everyone catching us. We have to make sure we are at it every day in training and in every single game. The job’s not done until it’s done. We knew there was going to be a big crowd here today and they were going to be right behind their team. It can be very hostile, very tough.”
Tranmere had conceded only 15 goals all season – until Matty Stevens, Jamille Matt, MooreTaylor and Regan Hendry added more than a quarter of that total in 90 sizzling minutes.
Forest Green could even afford to miss a last-minute penalty from Josh March, well saved by Ross Doohan.
But even though the strike pair of Stevens and Matt made it a combined 33 goals for the season, it was a defence that has now been beaten just once in six games that was the bedrock of the win.
And Moore-Taylor, who signed a new 18-month deal at the start of the month to scare off any potential interest in the transfer window, has been key to that.
Moore-Taylor said: “I think that’s 13 clean sheets since we switched to a back three. We’re a club that’s progressing nicely. We’ve got ambition, that’s why I signed the new deal. I was struggling with injuries before but now I’m getting a run and looking forward to my football. It’s just about consistency. If you play consistently you get consistency in performance.
“We’ve got a settled side and everyone is reaping their rewards.”
Despite their biggest home league defeat in well over eight years, in front of a crowd of nearly 11,000, Tranmere are still in the thick of the promotion picture.
And manager Micky Mellon snapped when pressed about his team’s shocking failure.
He said: “I’m not going to dwell on finding all the disappointments, finding all the negatives.
“It was one game in a long season where we didn’t get it right. The dressing room is disappointed and so they should be, they don’t like losing games. But we will go again and only look forward.”