NL: Torquay United v Tranmere Rovers 3pm 9 April 2016

Good game we did not deserve to lose, MacDonald was truly outstanding. Other results could have been worse so dust down, re-charge batteries and thrash Altringham! Journey home less ecstatic that it might have been.

Indeed, I would suggest that Tranmere are probably the pick of the sides that have visited us. They looked, for example, streets ahead of someone like Eastleigh. They were powerful and quick yet we totally matched for most of the game. I thought we lost our solidity when Racchi was replaced by Young as the 4-2-3-1 we played pretty much from the off looked to really suit us.

A crowd a little in excess of 2200 didn't witness the most scintillating of matches, but the Tranmere fans went home happy, while Gulls supporters were probably thankful that results elsewhere didn't make our position a great deal more perilous. It was probably a fair result although we did have a couple of chances to score; Blissett hit a shot wide during the first half, and an injury time Luke Young free kick caused panic and needed a good reaction save to preserve Tranmere's lead. We looked like a side that had put every ounce of their energy into defeating Chester in the week, whereas Tranmere legs seemed just that bit more sprightly.

The visitors dominated the first quarter of an hour, often with good one touch inter-play. With Ajala and Iffy wide, and Chaney pushed well forward in support of Blissett, our central midfield didn't comprise of many yellow shirts. In contrast, Tranmere, being as good as their word in saying they'd be pushing forward as they needed the win, got plenty of men into central midfield as they executed some neat one touch exchanges which left us chasing shadows. Number 11, Lois Maynard, 'playing in the hole' found himself with time and space to thread balls through to top scorer Norwood or to the eventual scorer of the winning goal, Higdon.

At the other end, and for most of the game, we struggled to penetrate the Tranmere defence, or to find a way around man mountain Steve McNulty. We gradually made the necessary adjustments and tightened up considerably, but going forward our crossing and shooting was poor. As the first 45 minutes concluded, we were the more relieved that it was still goal-less as it stood at

Gulls 0 Rovers 0


At half time we heard about the proposed roof for the Disabled Fans section, before a Party Political soon followed as a spokesman for one set of 'boat rockers' attempted to distance themselves from another set of 'boat rockers'.

Those more interested in the Club Chairman's take on things, will have noted his words in the programme: 'I would like to reiterate that at the present time we must concentrate on matters on-the-field above anything else. You can rest assured that we will keep you updated with developments when the time is right to do so'.

Jimmy Aggrey, towering above Steve Breed, did the half time draw. No one appeared in order to participate in the crossbar challenge, so Jimmy had a go, and fittingly for an ex pro, hit the bar with his first attempt, enabling a Cancer charity to benefit financially.

We were giving as good as we were getting in the second half, but with just under a quarter of an hour of second period gone, a good cross was swung over from in front of Bristow's bench, Michael Higson found space between our defence and met the ball with a header that had sufficient pace and direction to go beyond the grasp of the diving American. The 300 Tranmere supporters at that end celebrated in suitable fashion.

A combination of the usual time wasting ensued, combined with the pettiness of modern officialdom that insists that if anyone goes to ground it has to be a free kick to one side or the other.

A defeat but not a disasterous one (hopefully), and one that will most probably be quickly forgotten if we can win on Tuesday.