Tranmere Rovers - Who needs a lemon when you've got a Mellon!

Tranmere captain Steve Jennings has apolgised to the fans after 10 man Tranmere were beaten 2-0 by Eastleigh on Saturday.

Speaking after the game, Jennings was less than impressed with Tranmere's performance.

"We've let the fans down today and for that I apologise. We were not good enough and should have got more out of the game. Credit where it's due, Eastleigh deserved to win but our performance was shocking. We couldn't hit the target, we couldn't string a pass, it was like we were a different team compared to the one that's usually played this season. It's up to us to bounce back against Boreham Wood on Tuesday now."

Jennings also backed teammate Jack Fitzwater to bounce back after his red card.

"Jack was distraught in the dressing room after the game. He's made a mistake out there an he's in bits but he'll be back. Jack is a quality player and West Brom are lucky to have him signed up. He's young and he'll learn from this, he will take the feeling he has at the moment and make sure to never make the mistake again. He'll be back better than ever."

Callum Harris put in an inspired performance, to earn Boreham Wood a 1-1 draw, away at runaway National League leaders Tranmere.




Tranmere: Turner, Vaughan, Honeyball, Vyner, Coker, Shaw, Wallace, S Jennings (Tombides 67), Tollitt, Norwood, Cook (Mangan 79).
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh, Ihiekwe.

Booked: Vaughan, Jennings, Shaw.

Boreham Wood: Tupper, Wolfenden, Devera, Barbir (Paine 67), Ilesanmi, Clifford, Davis (Jeffrey 82), Harris (Shakes 72), Andrade, Balanta, Elford-Alliyu.
Subs Not Used: Smith, Uchechi.

Booked: Clifford.



Referee: A Hutchinson
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 4,795 (15 away)
Possession: Tranmere 53% - 47% Boreham Wood
Shots: Tranmere 20 - 11 Boreham Wood
On Target: Tranmere 12 - 3 Boreham Wood
Fouls: Tranmere 23 - 21 Boreham Wood

Tranmere top scorer James Norwood has committed his future to Tranmere after signing a new deal that runs until the end of the 2018/19 season.

Norwood, who joined Tranmere from Forest Green in 2015, would have been a free agent in the summer had he not signed a new deal and manager Micky Mellon was keen to renew Norwood's contract. So far this season, Norwood has been banging in the goals and looks set to beat the National League record for goals in a season.

"I'm delighted that James has signed a new deal," said Mellon after Norwood put pen to paper.

"James has been absolutely unbelievable so far this season and I was really worried that we were going to lose him to a bigger club, especially given his goal tally this season. I'm relieved that he's agreed to stay with us and that we've got a deal sorted and I'm looking forward to seeing him score a lot more goals in the future."

Tranmere are into the FA Trophy semi-finals following a 2-0 extra time win over Welling at Prenton Park, Taylor Tombides and Andy Mangan getting the goals.

Match Highlights


Final Score: Tranmere 2-0 Welling AET

Starting Lineups

Tranmere: Turner, Vaughan, Fitzwater, Honeyball, Vyner (Coker 108), Shaw, Jennings, Collins (Tombides 69), Tollitt, Norwood (Mangan 69), Cook
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh.

Goals: Tombides (98), Mangan (120).

Welling: Lewington, Marsh-Brown, Leacock, Smyth, Cox, Joesph-Dubois (Walker 64), Fuseini, Verde (Hatton 76), Morgan, Crawford, Smith (Slabber 69).
Subs Not Used: Carey, Nelson.

Booked: Fuseini, Marsh-Brown.

Match Statistics

Referee: D Cook.
Shots: Tranmere 30-4 Welling
On Target: Tranmere 8-1 Welling
Possession: Tranmere 68%-32% Welling
Corners: Tranmere 9-4 Welling
Fouls: Tranmere 14-12 Welling
Attendance: 4,306 (81 away).

Tranmere will face bitter rivals Wrexham in the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.

The two sides have met just once this season with Tranmere taking the win with a 3-2 victory. Wrexham did get one over on Tranmere in last year's FA Trophy, knocking Rovers out with a 4-2 win at Prenton Park.

The first leg will be played at Wrexham on the 11th of March with the second leg being played at Prenton Park on the 18th of March.

The full draw is as follows:

Lincoln vs Boreham Wood
Wrexham vs Tranmere

Tranmere winger Ben Tollitt was the match winner for Tranmere, his goal giving them a 1-0 win over Forest Green at Prenton Park.




Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Fitzwater, Vyner, Honeyball, Shaw, Wallace, S Jennings (Tombides 75), Tollitt, Cook (Mangan 66), Norwood.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Ridehalgh, Coker.

Booked: Shaw, Wallace.

Forest Green: Maxted, Bennett, Hughes, Osho, Field, Charles-Cook (Frear 50), Traore, Noble (Edun 56), Chemial, Robert, Murphy (Tubbs 5).
Subs Not Used: Lefebvre, Kelly.

Booked: Noble, Traore.



Referee: C Lymer
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 4,937 (49 away)
Possession: Tranmere 64% - 36% Forest Green
Shots: Tranmere 15 - 9 Forest Green
On Target: Tranmere 5 - 3 Forest Green
Fouls: Tranmere 20 - 11 Forest Green

Tranmere took the spoils in their local derby with Chester, James Norwood and Andy Cook giving the Merseysiders a 2-1 win.




Chester: Roberts, Helm, Hudson, Ellesley, Mdford-Smith, Hughes (Mahon 45), Lea (Vicars 54), Durrell, Smith, Lloyd (Akintunde 45), Babos.
Subs Not Used: Morton, Horwood.

Booked: Ellesley, Vicars.

Tranmere: Davies, Vaughan, McNulty, Fitzwater, Coker (Honeyball 68), Ridehalgh, Harris, Tombides, Tollitt (Mangan 73), Norwood, Cook.
Subs Not Used: Turner, Wallace, Buxton.

Booked: Harris.



Referee: J Johnson
Stadium: Lookers Vauxhall Stadium
Attendance: 5,453 (1,200 away)
Possession: Chester 44% - 56% Tranmere
Shots: Chester 13 - 7 Tranmere
On Target: Chester 4 - 3 Tranmere
Fouls: Chester 13 - 17 Tranmere

Tranmere winger Ben Tollitt has told the Globe that Tranmere are ready for their FA Trophy semi-final 1st leg tie away at Wrexham.

"It's a massive game," Tollitt told the Globe.

"It's a semi-final of a cup where the finalists play at Wembley so it's a massive deal for us as a club and as players. We are desperate to win it and have our day out at Wembley in May. It's important that we go out there and remember that the tie is over two legs and can't be won or lost in the game at Wrexham. That said though, we're ready for the game and we'll be looking to take a lead back to Prenton Park."

"Wrexham are one of our local rivals so our fans will definitely be a massive influence on the game. I think we've sold out so we should have over a thousand there cheering us on. I can't stress enough just how important the fans are at games like these. They are our 12th man and their support really helps us push on and get the results we want."

Tranmere have an advantage going into the FA Trophy semi-final second leg, after beating Wrexham by two goals to one at the Racecourse Ground.

Match Highlights


Final Score: Wrexham 1-2 Tranmere.

Starting Lineups

Wrexham: Jalal, Carrington, Wynter, Bainbridge, Evans (Newton 78), Wintle, Cox (Bencherif 78), Rooney, Clarke (Gillett 63), Harvey, McDonagh.
Subs Not Used: Dunn, Riley.

Booked: Cox, Wintle, Gillett.

Goals: Wintle (64).

Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Honeyball, Vyner, Fitzwater, Shaw, Wallace, Jennings (Tombides 87), Tollitt, Cook (Mangan 87), Norwood (Ridehalgh 39).
Subs Not Used: Davies, Coker.

Booked: Jennings, Buxton, Shaw, Ridehalgh, Wallace.

Off: Shaw (39).

Goals: Cook (4), Tollitt (8).

Match Statistics

Referee: A Quelch.
Shots: Wrexham 14 - 13 Tranmere
On Target: Wrexham 5 - 7 Tranmere
Possession: Wrexham 42% - 58% Tranmere
Corners: Wrexham 4 - 5 Tranmere
Fouls: Wrexham 9 - 15 Tranmere
Attendance: 7,589 (1,075 away).

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon was delighted to see his side gain the advantage in their FA Trophy Semi Final 1st Leg tie against Wrexham but stressed that the tie wasn't over.

Tranmere went into the match as favourites, despite the first leg being played at Wrexham. Andy Cook and Ben Tollitt gave Tranmere an early two-goal lead before Wintle hit back for Wrexham, the game ending 2-1. That means that Tranmere will take a 2-1 lead back to Prenton Park where they'll be heavily backed to progress to the FA Trophy final.

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon spoke of his delight at the result in an interview with BT Sport after the match.

"That couldn't have gone any better really," said the Scot.

"We dominated the match from start to finish and that is exactly what we wanted to do. We thought that it wasn't going to be easy before the game but unfortunately Wrexham didn't do themselves justice at all. We were first to every loose ball, quicker in the tackle and by far the better team in front of goal. The only downside is that the lead we have isn't greater than it is."

Despite the result, the Tranmere boss insisted that the tie wasn't over.

"We know that the tie isn't over, we cannot become complacent after that result. Wrexham are a good team, they wouldn't have got this far if they weren't, but they had an off day today. In the 2nd leg, it could be completely different and we have to make sure that we remain professional and get the job done in the second leg."

James Norwood scored the winner, as Tranmere took all three points with a 1-0 win over Dover at Prenton Park.




Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Fitzwater, Vyner (McNulty 72), Honeyball, Ridehalgh, Wallace (Tombides 72), Jennings, Tollitt, Cook, Norwood.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Mangan, Coker.

Dover: Walker, Magri, Kent, Da Graca (Lelan 72), Thomas, Hines, Moore, Logan (Dasilva 51), Barnes, Emmanuel (Miller 60), Umerah.
Subs Not Used: Arnold, Rosenthal.

Booked: Magri, Moore, Thomas.



Referee: C Hicks
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 4,854 (40 away)
Possession: Tranmere 58% - 42% Dover
Shots: Tranmere 19 - 5 Dover
On Target: Tranmere 7 - 2 Dover
Fouls: Tranmere 7 - 17 Dover

Tranmere eased into the FA Trophy final, beating Wrexham 3-0 at Prenton Park to secure a 5-1 aggregate win.

Match Highlights


Final Score: Tranmere 3(5)-0(1) Wrexham.

Starting Lineups

Tranmere: Turner, Buxton, Fitzwater, Honeyball, Vyner, Shaw (Ridehalgh 87), Jennings (Tombides 75), Wallace, Tollitt (Mangan 54), Cook, Norwood.
Subs Not Used: Davies, Coker.

Booked: Jennings.

Goals: Honeyball (36), Mangan (68), Norwood (83).

Wrexham: Dunn, Carrington, Wynter, Bainbridge, Evans, Wintle (Bailey-Nicholls 54), Cox, Gillett (Bencherif 51), Clarke, Rooney (Newton 65), Harvey.
Subs Not Used: Wolland, Riley.

Booked: Cox, Harvey, Evans.

Match Statistics

Referee: K Evans.
Shots: Tranmere 27-3 Wrexham
On Target: Tranmere 10-1 Wrexham
Possession: Tranmere 63%-37% Wrexham
Corners: Tranmere 9-4 Wrexham
Fouls: Tranmere 13-15 Wrexham
Attendance: 10,913 (2,242 away).

Andy Cook scored twice for Tranmere, as they moved to within three points of the National League title, winning 2-0 away at North Ferriby.




North Ferriby: Watson, Hare (Fallowfield 55), Gray, Slade, Lehy, Gordon (Brogan 75), Oliver, O'Hanlon, B Shaw (Robinson 60), Thompson, Lewis.
Subs Not Used: Douglas, Bateson.

Tranmere: Davies, Buxton (Coker 90), Fitzwater, Vyner, Honeyball, F Shaw, Wallace (Tombides 69), Collins, Tollitt, Norwood, Cook.
Subs Not Used: Turner, Mangan, Ridehalgh.



Referee: S Bennett
Stadium: Grange Lane
Attendance: 760 (413 away)
Possession: North Ferriby 42% - 58% Tranmere
Shots: North Ferriby 10 - 12 Tranmere
On Target: North Ferriby 3 - 5 Tranmere
Fouls: North Ferriby 4 - 12 Tranmere

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon has called for his players to do the club proud and win the National League title, whilst denying claims that his players are nervous.

"We know the situation and what we need to do," said Mellon in an interview with Radio City.

"The lads are all buzzing and raring to go against Braintree and we know what's at stake. Three points wins us the National League title, along with promotion back to the football league and we want it more than anything. With that said, we know that the job is not done. We know that we need to put in a performance to pick up the three points. That is what we have done all season long and we simply just need to continue that."

"We want to do it for the fans. The fans of this club are some of the best fans in the world and we want to do them proud. They deserve success and we are in the situation where we can give it to them. They will fill Prenton Park and back us and we need to deliver for them. The players know what the need to do and none of them are nervous. They're probably the opposite, they can't wait."