Ged Brannan believed Morecambe could beat Tranmere despite two-goal deficit

Posted Wednesday, February 14, 2024 by PA

Morecambe boss Ged Brannan believed his side could still win the game despite falling two goals behind early in their 3-2 victory at Tranmere.

A stunning free-kick from substitute Jacob Davenport deep in added time saw his side come from two goals down to take all three points with a dramatic comeback victory at Prenton Park.

Rovers raced into a two-goal lead when Rob Apter scored after just four minutes and Connor Jennings doubled the lead from the penalty spot six minutes later.

But the Shrimps halved the arrears after 14 minutes when Charlie Brown fired home from 10 yards, with the Tranmere defence appealing for offside.

Apter had a glorious opportunity to extend Tranmere’s lead with 20 minutes left, only to be denied by Archie Mair in the Morecambe goal.

And Rovers were made to pay when substitute Jordan Slew levelled with eight minutes remaining before Davenport won the game with a glorious free-kick from 25 yards out with almost the last kick to make it three wins on the bounce for the Shrimps.

Morecambe manager Brannan said: “We started the game off quite well and gave two silly goals away but we played really well.

“To be honest, when we scored our first goal I knew we’d win the game and if we kept going we’d score again in the second half and we did. It was a fantastic performance, I’m absolutely delighted.

“You can’t write a finish like that and it kills you when you get beat with a goal like that late on. I saw him lining it up and I was thinking ‘Don’t shoot, don’t shoot’, and then he puts it right in the top corner.

“A few times we’ve gone behind lately and we’ve shown great character to come back and win and, as I say, the way we played today it was never in doubt, to be honest.

“The game is 95 minutes now and we know we’ve just got to keep going until the final whistle and that’s exactly what we did.”

Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins said: “It was a tough one to take and we started the game ever so well to go 2-0 up.

“It was a great first goal from Rob Apter and then Connor Jennings making it two from the spot, it was well deserved.

“But they got themselves back into the game and all of a sudden it makes it a bit more challenging against a team who have won their last three games.

“Even at 2-2 I’m thinking we can still go on and win the game and once again the officials have played over time and they’ve scored to leave them elated and leave us in a difficult position.

“Consistency is what I’m after and I’m going to have to reflect on that at the end of the game.

“The result has gone against us but what I’ve got is an honest and hard-working bunch of players.

“There are some things we’ve got to improve on and there are some things we’ve done very well.”