Rovers 2-1 Leyton Orient
Monday 22nd February, 2010
By Alex James

Rovers clambered out of the relegation zone for the first time since August with a deserved 2-1 victory over Leyton Orient at Prenton Park.

It was a fluid first half performance which set Tranmere up for the win with Ian Thomas-Moore and loanee Marvin Sordell finding the net, and despite a nervy last five minutes after Jonathan Tehoue’s goal, Rovers hung on for three vital points.

It was Orient’s first defeat of 2010 and moved Rovers two points above the drop zone ahead of Tuesday night’s home match with Huddersfield Town.

Tranmere dominated the first half with Marvin Sordell looking lively up front and Paul McLaren pulling the strings in midfield.

The former Rotherham man has had his fair share of critics this season but the opening 45 minutes were probably his best in a Rovers shirt this season.

Sordell had the first chance but his effort was skewed wide after Ian Thomas-Moore’s knockdown had found the Watford loanee in space.

Gareth Edds then saw a header saved by Jamie Jones before Rovers opened the scoring.

Thomas-Moore collected the ball on the left, was allowed to cut inside and drove a right foot effort low into the bottom corner. O’s keeper Jones was immediately bemoaning his defence for not shutting Thomas-Moore down but he will have been disappointed to have been beaten at his near post.

It got better for the home side when Sordell curled home his first effort for the club eight minutes later. Collecting the ball on the right after a surging John Welsh run he picked his spot and curled a precise effort past the outstretched Jones into the far corner.

At that stage it looked as if though Rovers were going to run riot as Orient failed to trouble home stopper Luke Daniels at all in the first half.

But Rovers never really got going after the break. The introduction of former Premiership-striker James Scowcroft gave the visitors another dimension as they sought a way back into the match.

But although they enjoyed more possession in the second period it wasn’t until a frantic final 10 minutes that Orient looked as if they might salvage an unlikely point.

Scowcroft brought a superb save out of Daniels who pushed away his low drive, before fellow sub Tehoue blazed over when he should really have scored.

But Tehoue made no mistake with his second chance, finishing low past Daniels after Broomes only half cleared an Orient cross.

Orient then poured forward in search of the equaliser and almost found it when Jason Demetriou struck a fine free kick which produced an even better save from Daniels who did superbly to turn the ball over the bar.

With that went Orient’s last chance and Rovers survived to earn three priceless points.

A mention should go to Luke O’Neill who made his debut at right back in place of the suspended Shay Logan. The Leicester loanee rarely looked troubled and was strong and solid on the right hand side of a much improved Rovers defensive performance.

For the first time in a couple of games the back four showed some composure and didn’t panic quite so much – it was just a shame that the late goal took away what would have been a first clean sheet in front of their own fans since December 28.