Grass is Green for Chris

Last updated : 01 December 2007 By Matthew Jones

Chris Greenacre's first goals from open play for two months, coupled with a brilliant strike from Steven Jennings, sent Tranmere through to the third round of the F.A. Cup as they emphatically beat Bradford City at Valley Parade.

Ronnie Moore made two changes to the side that lost 1-0 to
Swansea at Prenton Park
last weekend, as Calvin Zola and Shane Sherriff replaced Gareth Taylor and Jennison Myrie-Williams, as Ben Chorley and John Mullin returned to the substitute's bench following injuries. A knee injury kept Craig Curran out of the match.

Rovers started brilliantly, as they made their intentions clear with Robbie Stockdale having their first chance just a minute into the game. Shane Sherriff and Chris Greenacre linked up well down the left before Zola recieved the ball in the penalty area. The tall striker saw his shot blocked, but the ball only fell to Robbie Stockdale who shot from 18-yards, only for goalkeeper Donavon Ricketts to make a good save low down to his left.

It was however an end to end start to the game, as soon after Danny Coyne made a brilliant left-handed save at full stretch from Omar Daley, with the Welsh goalkeeper tipping the ball round the post for a corner.

Shane Sherriff came closer still moments later, as the Australian, starting the game at left-midfield, found himself free in the penalty area after Shuker had beat his man down the right and crossed the ball along the six-yard line, but Sherriff saw his goal bound effort saved well by Ricketts who made himself big before diving to smother the ball.

The wait for a goal was not long though, as Tranmere scored with the next attack of the game through midfielder Steven Jennings.

The Rovers number 12 picked up a stray ball in midfield and after advancing towards the
Bradford penalty area, Jennings
hit a wonderful left-footed shot from 25-yards into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, handing Tranmere the lead with just seven minutes gone.

Greenacre perhaps should have doubled Tranmere's just a minute after the re-start as his header went well over the bar from Shuker's cross whilst the Rovers leading scorer had another chance on 13-minutes but stabbed his shot straight at Ricketts from another Shuker cross.

Bradford were in the hunt for a goal too however, and they hit the cross-bar with a David Weatheralll header from a corner after a few minutes of sustained pressure from the home side, which also saw Rovers striker Calvin Zola deflect a goal-bound shot out of play.

On 15 minutes it looked as though Ian Goodison's afternoon was over as he limped off for treatment with a suspected calf-strain, but a few minutes with Les Parry was enough for the Rovers skipper who soon returned to the action despite looking less than comfortable when running.

The game now calmed down however, after all the Rovers fans probably needed a breather having seen more goalmouth action in the first few minutes of this game than in their last couple of league games put together.

Greenacre had a couple of chances to double Rovers' lead, as he firstly saw one header deflected out for a corner and then shooting wide after good link up play with Zola on the edge of the area. In between this, the Tranmere striker could have had another chance too, but a heavy touch saw the ball run out of play.

On 37-minutes Greenacre did get his goal however, his first from open play since 22nd September when he netted away at
Cheltenham
.

After some good build up play involving both wingers, Chris Shuker chipped the ball over the Bradford defence to Greenacre, who was now un-marked having timed his run to perfection. The former Stoke man now had all the time in the world to pick his shot and shoot, as the
Bradford defence just stood and watched before Greenacre smashed the ball accurately into the same corner that Jennings
had earlier netted in, leaving Ricketts once again with no chance.

This was the last real effort on goal for the half, as after Robbie Stockdale had limped off, replaced by Ben Chorley, with a minute or two remaining, the Rovers players left the pitch for a well deserved breather.

The game was not over yet by any means though and Ronnie Moore appeared to have drilled this message into his players (finally after last season some might say) as they pressed forward in search of a third goal.

After a string of corners which eventually came to nothing, Rovers had their first real shot of the half on 57 minutes with
Jennings
' chipped pass just running away from Paul McLaren when the midfielder had made a brilliant run into the box.

Bradford showed signs of a revival as Ndumbu-Nsungu made a couple of darting runs down the right whilst Danny Coyne was forced into collecting a couple of balls, but otherwise Bradford showed no threat in the final third.

Tranmere on the other hand were the complete opposite, as Chris Shuker came very close to a third as he cut in from the right and shot low towards goal and only a full length dive from Ricketts at his near post kept the ball out.

Five minutes later however, Rovers got that third goal and effectively killed
Bradford
off and put themselves in the draw for the third round.

A long "hoof" clear by Ian Goodison landed invitingly for Chris Greenacre, who showed great strength to shrug of his man before hitting a terrific shot into the bottom right-hand corner from near the penalty spot, once again leaving Ricketts with no chance of keeping the ball out.

The visitors were now in cruise control and were passing the ball about the pitch at will, completely dominating their opposition, with every Rovers touch greeted by a large cheer from the travelling army of fans from the Wirral.

Although the Rovers fans did chant "We want four", Tranmere never really came close to extending their lead in the final few minutes.

With eight minutes left, Gareth Taylor and John Mullin replaced the brilliant Calvin Zola and Steve Jennings as Rovers now looked to keep hold of the ball and wind down the clock.

Bradford had a few chances, but they were limited to shots from distance, one which headed well into the few remaining Bradford
fans behind the goal and another that curled just the wrong side of Danny Coyne's left hand post.

Rovers were left with a bitter feeling however, as with just a couple of minute's left key defender and captain Ian Goodison was carried off the pitch on a stretcher. One can only hope that his injury is not as serious as the one sustained by Steve Davies a couple of months ago.

At the final whistle, the Tranmere players, staff and fans were all left celebrating a place in the third round after they had completely out classed their opposition, a team who they have struggled to beat in recent years.

Ronnie Moore and his men were sung on by an official total of 1,831 fans, although in all honesty it looked well over 2000 as they had filled the end stand and part of the side section they were given, through-out the day, and that will undoubtedly have had an effect on the players performance as they put themselves in with a chance of drawing Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal in the next round.

The win was indeed the first victory by three clear goals for a Tranmere team managed by Ronnie Moore, and if they can carry this form into their game with
Hartlepool
on Tuesday night, and indeed into the next few league games, they should have no trouble in getting some league wins under their belt after a poor November.

Jones' Man of the Match: Again the Rovers defence was outstanding whilst midfielders McLaren and
Jennings put in excellent performances. Two goals from Greenacre was no less than he deserved for his effort over the past few weeks whilst Chris Shuker was a different player to the one we have seen over the last two months. My man of the match for this game however was Calvin Zola. The striker, returning to the starting line up for the first time in a couple of months, looked brilliant upfront, showing great strength in holding the ball up and looking good when the ball was at his feet. He never had a clear chance at goal, but getting on the score-sheet would have been well deserved for his efforts today.