Tranmerekat on Tour: Time Apter Time

Tranmere away to Stevenage FC in the FA Cup 1st Round at the Lamex Stadium

The Rovers have been drawn away to 1st division Stevenage in the 1st round of the FA Cup. We didn't expect to be back here in Hertfordshire so soon as they got promoted last time we were here. In that game the Boro fans seemed obsessed with cheering our goal kicks. Wonder if they have grown up yet? This is the first time we've seen Norris. Hope he is as good as expected. There's a start for Robbie Apter. Pike is on left 🤷‍♂️ and O'Conner right. "He's one of our own" sing the Boro fans about Luke Norris, who left Stevenage in the summer, swapping places with Kane Hemmings who is on the bench for Boro. Hope that he is as uninspired and uninspiring at Stevenage as he was at Tranmere 🤐.

Our defence has been so leaky💧 lately that no self-respecting plumber would touch it. To prove the point, we went behind after just three minutes. We didn't collapse though, and stayed in it although neither side created any real chances. Tranmere won a penalty and Luke Norris smashed it home on 28⚽. The Tranmere fans making a good noise but Boro quiet even for goal our kicks. The Rovers keep a better side from going ahead again and it's still level at the break.

Rover take the lead for the first time as Robbie Apter breaks though and shows great strength and control to hit the target on 55⚽. We got to sing "We're winning away" very briefly before Boro got a penalty and equalised from the spot on 58. They went ahead again when Kane Hemmings found the net on 81. It was all level again when Kieron Morris blasted through the pack on 90+1 ⚽. It looks like we are going to have a replay back at Prenton Park and we make some very late changes. The 9 minutes of injury time run out but the ref plays on. Tranmere hearts are broken by a winning goal from a corner on 90 + 10. It doesn't go down we'll in the Tranmere camp and I don't know what he said 🤬 but Joe is sent off from the bench on 90+12. Go Joe 👏. Love him 🥰.

So we are back to concentrating on the league which is a good job really as we're in the relegation zone. Saying that, it was the best performance for a while and could easily have been a draw had the ref not let it run on until they scored. Robbie Apter had a good game, as did the ever reliable Connor Jennings. Norris looked threatening at times and got his goal from the spot. Looks like Kane Hemmings has found some motivation, shame we didn't see any of that when we needed him to step up at Tranmere. We'll next see the Whites at Sutton which will be a massive 6 pointer. Nervous already.

POTM: As much as we would like to give it to Joe for his passionate performance, goes to Robbie Apter 🥇 for a great goal and giving the Boro defence plenty to think about.

Off to bed now as we have the Brighton game tomorrow 💤.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾