Tranmere Rovers keep faint playoff hopes alive with victory over Oldham Athletic

Tranmere Rovers ensured their battle for a playoff position will go down to the final day as they eased to a 2-0 victory over already relegated Oldham Athletic at Prenton Park.

Goals from Josh Hawkes and Kane Hemmings ensured the points on what was a comfortable afternoon for Rovers as Oldham rarely threatened Joe Murphy’s goal.

Tranmere came into the game knowing that would a win may not even be enough and that they would need some favours from elsewhere if they were to give themselves a fighting chance next weekend.

The return of Kieron Morris from suspension was just the lift that manager Micky Mellon would have been looking for. The midfielder was back after receiving a controversial red card for a high foot in the draw with Carlisle United.

Mellon opted for quite an attacking lineup which was to be expected with the visitors possibly finding motivation tough to find following last week’s confirmation of their relegation to the National League.

That did not deter the Oldham supporters who travelled the admittedly short journey in great numbers and sang their hearts out on what will be their final away trip in the Football League for some time.

There was plenty of humorous self-depreciation on show, with all of the ire saved for owner Abdallah Lemsagam, with calls for the businessman to sell the club after a miserable spell under his stewardship.

Speaking to one Oldham supporter after the match, he spoke of his dismay at the entire situation. He mentioned Jim Ratcliffe’s reported bid for Chelsea and noted that the billionaire was born less than three miles outside Oldham. A fraction of his wealth would be enough to get the club back in the right hands.

As for the football itself, it was quite a tepid affair. Oldham were not notably lacking in ambition, but quality was the main issue. Any efforts they did manage to get away were from long range and hardly any got near Murphy in the Tranmere goal.

Morris was the liveliest of the Tranmere attacking bunch and his link-up play with the likes of Hemmings and Elliott Nevitt was eye-catching.

Morris delivered some good crosses when operating from the right-hand side of the midfield and was putting the Oldham defence under pressure and moving between the lines and dribbling the ball to commit defenders.

It was Hawkes who would have the first effort of the game and it possibly should have been the opening goal. The winger found himself with the freedom of the penalty area at the back-post but his left-footed effort was sliced horribly wide.

This was when some of the favours that Tranmere needed started to come in. Bristol Rovers went a goal down to Rochdale while Bradford City were doing the business at Sutton United.

Hemmings spurned an excellent opportunity to keep Rovers own side of the bargain up but shot straight at Jayson Leutwiler when bearing down on goal.

Lewis Warrington let another half-chance go begging when he shot wide from outside the area but the frustration would soon dissipate.

Lee O’Connor broke from the midfield in the 27th minute and found Hawkes in tight space on the edge of the Oldham area. The former Sunderland man did well to find the bottom corner and give Leutwiler no chance to ease whatever nerves were in place around the ground.

The first half petered out a bit somewhat with both sides holding what they had, with Rovers perhaps unaware that goal difference could come into play.

Mellon must have made that point clear to his players at half-time as they re-emerged for the second half with a greater sense of purpose.

Hawkes should have doubled the advantage but shot over with the goal at his mercy while Hemmings headed wide under pressure from the Oldham defence.

Latics manager John Sheridan made a couple of changes and Callum Whelan had an impact, sparking Oldham into life and putting Tranmere under a little bit of pressure.

That was as good as it would get however as Hemmings sealed the win in the 62nd minute after linking up well with strike partner Nevitt before finishing brilliantly past Leutwiler.

Another goal could have proved vital for Rovers with Rochdale still leading Bristol Rovers at Spotland but Hemmings missed a glorious chance late on to add a third.

As it turns out, the Gas scored twice late to defeat Dale, meaning they could no longer be caught.

So where does this leave things going into next weekend’s final day?

Rovers can take comfort in whatever result comes from Salford’s clash with Mansfield Town on Monday. Should Salford win it, that will mean there are two playoff places still up for grabs but it would also mean the Manchester side would leapfrog Mellon’s men.

Then there is next Saturday. First and foremost, Tranmere must put their terrible away record to one side and beat Leyton Orient. Nothing else will do.

From there they will need Walsall to defeat Swindon with Sutton failing to pick up three points away to Harrogate Town. All three sides are away from home so upsets could happen. Salford could also come into play depending on their result on Monday.

It’s all set up for another hectic final day with automatic promotion still to be decided.

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