Tranmere Legends In Masters Success
Monday 7th September, 2009
By Matthew Jones

Tranmere Rovers’ Masters team last night put on a show to behold as they fought off competition from Celtic, Wolves and Bolton to become National Champions at the Echo Arena.

As the home team, Rovers, playing in front of a vocal Tranmere majority crowd, put on a great show as they came from behind to beat old rivals Bolton in the final, as a result that will stick in the memory of those who watched the game.

Tranmere made one change from the side that easily beat off Everton, Wigan and Liverpool in the regional stages, as Georges Santos was replaced by Tranmere’s all time leading goal scorer, Ian Muir, much to the delight of the Tranmere fans.

The Tranmere squad was as follows:
John Achterberg (GK), Ian Nolan, Ged Brannan, Eddie Bishop, John McGreal, Stuart Barlow (c), Shaun Garnett, Kenny Irons, Ian Muir

First up on the Masters carpet, reigning champions Wolverhampton Wanderers took on Leicester City, with two ex-Rovers one show, Andy Thompson for Wolves and Gavin Ward in goal for the Foxes.

Wolves came through the match victorious though, as they strolled past Leicester with a convincing 6-1 victory, Don Goodman netting twice.  This was a significant result for Tranmere, as either they or Celtic would face Wolves in the next round.

After Middlesbrough had defeated QPR 5-2, Tranmere took to the carpet with the large numbers of Rovers fans getting well behind their team from the off.

This was a tough game for Rovers though, against a Celtic team which included the likes of Tommy Boyd and Allan Stubbs, brother of Tranmere fan and ex-Rovers player Ray.

Each team passed the ball around well, but Celtic were on top early on, with John Achterberg in the Tranmere goal keeping the game at 0-0 at half time thanks to some excellent saves.

After half-time though, Rovers took the lead as captain Stuart Barlow fired a left-footed shot into the goal from a tight angle.  The lead wouldn’t last long however, as only seconds later Andy Walker quickly levelled for the Scottish side.

With time ticking down, it looked as if the game would go to penalties.  Rovers, and in particular Ian Muir, however had different ideas, as they legendary striker netted a wonderful goal, delicately lobbing the ball over ‘keeper Kerr, with his shot gently bouncing over the line and into the net.

Tranmere then progressed into the semi-final thanks to this 2-1 victory, and in the one remaining quarter final, Bolton easily beat Barnsley 8-3 in an entertaining match, setting up a semi-final with Middlesbrough.

Rovers were in action in the first semi-final against Wolves in what was sure to be a very tough test.  However, again, the Rovers heroes and legends did the club proud as they prevailed with an excellent 2-1 win.

Tranmere raced into a 2-0 lead in the match, firstly thanks to a goal from Ian Nolan, before shortly after Stuart Barlow doubled the Tranmere advantage with his second goal of the night.

Wolves pulled one back through Scott Taylor – not the former Rovers striker – before half time, but some valiant second half defending helped Tranmere through, with John McGreal and Shaun Garnett excelling at the back.

Rovers fans and players then were allowed to sit back and relax for half an hour, as they enjoyed the second semi-final, which Bolton won comfortably again, beating Middlesbrough 5-2.  Birkenhead born Craig Hignett netted twice for the Teesside club, taking his tally to the night to four goals, joint first for the evening with Charlton and Johansen of Bolton, but it wasn’t enough for Middlesbrough, who also had Dean Windass, Graham Cavanagh and Colin Cooper in their side.

The final then was to be between Tranmere and Bolton, bringing back memories of the fierce rivalry between the two sides that was existed for the last twenty years.

Sadly for Tranmere though, it was to be Bolton who started the better of the two sides, taking an early 2-0 lead, as Johansen and Green netted both goals in front of the large gathering of Rovers’ fans.  Kenny Irons reduced the lead before half-time however, as he headed in Ian Muir’s magnificent, perfectly accurate floated cross at the back post.

However, Tranmere looked down and out of it at the interval, when Bolton netted again to make it 3-1 after Eddie Bishop was easily shrugged off the ball.

Tranmere though turned the game round after half-time, as they firstly reduced the lead to just a single goal at 3-2 when Eddie Bishop scored his first goal of the evening with an excellent  finish from a tight angle on the left.

The game though ultimately turned on a moment of controversy moments later.  Ged Brannan’s fierce shot appeared to hit the arm of Lee, but the referee waved play on and Bolton carried the ball down the other end and netted past Achterberg.

However, the Rovers players contested the decision and convinced the referee to go to the television replay, which proved Brannan’s shot had indeed been handled.

The referee chalked off Bolton’s goal and awarded Rovers’ a penalty, which Kenny Irons coolly finished, slotting the ball into the top right hand corner to score his second of the game and draw the match level at 3-3.

Bolton then pushed for a winner, and with all their men forward, Tranmere won the ball and quickly released it to Ian Muir, who scored his second of the night with an excellent finish into the bottom corner from 15-yards.

Muir had another chance to score for Tranmere a minute later, but his shot clipped the outside of the post, whilst Rovers withstood some heavy pressure from their opponents to hold on for a superb 4-2 comeback win and seal the National Masters trophy in just their second season in the competition.

Tranmere captain Stuart Barlow then lifted the Masters trophy for Tranmere as the Rovers fans around the arena rejoiced.  Much the disapproval of the Tranmere fans, Richard Sneekes of Bolton won the Player of the Night award after three impressive displays from the blonde-haired midfielder, though nothing could dampen their spirits after a third successful evening for the Tranmere Rovers legends team at the Echo Arena.

All went home happy, having seen their heroes yet again grace the football field, bringing back memories for many of the good old days, when Rovers were pushing for promotion to the Premier League, and every team feared playing John King’s Super White Army.  The boys did the club, themselves and their fans proud, as they became Master Champions of Britain.

All my pictures of the evening can by found on my forum User Profile, matthewtrfc.

Roll on next year!