FOUR-EST ON FIRE AT TOP
Leaders ten clear at the top Star
ROB Edwards was full of praise for Forest Green’s team spirit after they thrashed Tranmere to move ten points clear at the top of League Two.
Prolific strikers Matty Stevens and Jamille Matt bagged typical poachers’ goals to put the visitors two up at half-time, and the win was sealed thanks to Jordan Moore-Taylor’s and Regan Hendry’s efforts.
Victory extended the Rovers’ unbeaten run to 15 matches and Edwards paid tribute to his entire squad.
He said: “It was a whole team performance. Everyone, including the players that came on, the lads that were unused and the lads that weren’t named in the squad today - it’s everyone of them.
“I’ve just said that to them in there - it’s everyone of them because they train with us all week and they train really hard all week.
“I have to select 11 to start and can only bring three subs on but every single one of deserved that and they’re part of this group.”
The opener came in the sixth minute when former Tranmere loanee Kane Wilson found his way in behind Calum MacDonald and crossed to Stevens, who swept the ball home for his 16th goal of the season.
Initially shaken by conceding so early, Tranmere did start to come back into the game only for Matt to convert Nicholas Cadden’s cross to double Forest Green’s advantage three minutes before the break.
Any hopes of a turnaround were ended by Moore-Taylor’s bended effort in the 53rd minute and Hendry soon put the icing on the cake, firing beyond Ross Doohan from the edge of the box after a cross was only half cleared.
It could have been worse for Tranmere but Doohan manthem aged to save substitute Josh March’s penalty with pretty much the last kick of the game.
Defeat for Tranmere ended their own ten-match unbeaten run while showing unfamiliar signs of discontent.
Boss Micky Mellon felt the right team won on the day and credited Forest Green for their all-round performance.
He admitted: “We would have to say on the day that we
just never really got going and were deservedly beaten. We lost too many sort of duels all over the pitch in vital moments and never created enough or asked enough questions of them at the other side so all in all on the day we weren’t really the best version of ourselves.
“Every credit to Forest Green - I thought they were very good and I thought they were first to everything. They showed us how you have to deal with duels and you have to come out on top. It’s something for us to learn from. “It’s one moment in a long season and we’ll dust ourselves down over the weekend and we’ll come back in on Monday ready to go to work again.” Mellon also highlighted the first goal his side conceded as a pa concern.
He added: “The manner in which we lost the goal - I keep speaking about duels, we could have done better probably three times in that moment.
“The ball comes across the face of the goal and we find ourselves so early a goal down in a big game like this, it was obviously very disappointing.”