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Ronnie Moore stuck with the same eleven that lost 1-0 at the Galpharm Stadium against Huddersfield Town last weekend, although there was one change on the substitutes bench, as Steve Davies replaced Mike Jones.
After Steve Jennings had been booked in the opening minutes, the free-kick was taken by Charlie Mulgrew and as it curled in towards goal, Danny Coyne was forced to tip it over the bar for a corner.
Fourteen minutes later though, Tranmere came close with their first chance of the game. Steve Jennings won the ball in midfield, and he charged forwards towards the edge of the D. With the ball on his left foot, Jennings refrained from shooting and instead passed the ball inside to left-midfielder Shane Sherriff who saw his goalbound shot deflected over for a corner by former Tranmere loanee Simon Francis.
Two minutes later, Southend 'keeper Darryl Flahavan then somehow kept the scores at 0-0. Jennings played a neat one-two with Shuker to play the ball back into the penalty area for the winger, and as Shuker's shot from the edge of the six-yard box was deflected towards the near post as opposed to the far post where it was heading, Flahavan, who won the League One player of the year with Southend in the 2005/06 season, somehow stuck out a hand and deflected the ball over the bar, one of the saves of the season.
McCormack broke through midfield on 21-minutes and his long-range effort bounced just wide of Coyne's left-hand post but the action was back down the other end a few moments later as Andy Taylor curled a free-kick just wide of the far post from 25-yards after Chris Greenacre had been fouled.
The action was mainly in front of the Cowshed which Tranmere were attacking, and the home side had a couple of other chances just after the half-hour mark, as firstly Shane Sherriff vollied over with his weaker right-foot at the far post. The Aussie then turned provider, as he played a beautiful pass into the penalty area for Ian Moore, who, breaking in from the left-hand side, could only shoot straight at the goalkeeper, who made a good save from close range.
Robbie Stockdale also had a chance for Rovers as the right-back, in an unusually attacking position on the edge of the area, attempted to curl the ball round a defender but only managed to hit the ball straight at him.
Southend got back in the game towards the end of the half though, with Alex Revell firstly testing Coyne with a shot that although straight at the Welsh international, troubled the 'keeper as it bounced straight in front of him, before the same player came even closer just a minute before half-time as he jumped highest in the penalty area to head the ball goalwards, only for Coyne to pull off a magnificent save as he dived and pushed the ball round the post with the fingertips of his left-hand.
Tranmere then went in at half-time perhaps wondering how they were not ahead, with all the chances they had they should certanly have taken one, whilst with Carlisle losing away to Millwall, a Southend win would throw them right amongst the teams pushing for second place.
Rovers continued where they'd left off before half-time however after the break, as Steve Jennings came close with a long range effort that went just wide of the goalkeeper's right-hand post.
With their next attack though, Tranmere took the lead after a magnificent move. With 53-minutes on the clock, as after some good work in midfield, Shane Sherriff picked up the ball on the left and with his first touch he sent a perfect cross in to the penalty area, where Antony Kay rose to head the ball home. The defender is Tranmere's second-top scorer this season, behind Chris Greenacre, and he has impressively scored seven times, with four of these goals being winners.
Just before the hour mark, Southend won a free-kick and Mulgrew's curling shot from the set-piece was goalbound before Danny Coyne skipped across his line to catch the ball. This though was to pretty much be the closest the Shrimpers came in the second half.
Over the remaining thirty minutes, Tranmere had a great number of chances, although they simply couldn't get past Flahavan for a second time.
Firstly, Chris Greenacre laid the ball back to Antony Kay and the Tranmere goalscorer smashed a 20-yard shot goalwards, only for Flahavan to tip over, before Greenacre himself had a chance as he somehow headed wide at the back post from an Andy Taylor cross.
Robbie Stockdale then came close to his first Tranmere goal as his shot across goal from inside the area was saved by Flahavan who dived to his right to save, whilst the last chance of the game fell to Greenacre who somehow failed to hit the target from 14-yards as after great build up play involving Curran, Moore and Jennings, the ball was laid back to Greenacre who blasted the ball over the bar.
On the day, Tranmere out played Southend, who we wish the best of luck in the play-offs, where they will meet one of Nottingham Forest, Carlisle or Doncaster.
Tranmere still need to score more goals, especially considering the chances they had today, as this has proved to be a real problem this year as they have lost games by a single goal or drawn too often.
A final word for the Southend fans who made the journey today. Despite the result, it appeared that they had all enjoyed their day out, and many came in fancy dress, with seven dwarfs, three teletubbies and plenty of nuns in the Cowshed. The Shrimpers fans made lots of noise and it was great to see them enjoying themselves.
Jones' Man of the Match: For me there was only one contender today, as Steve Jennings was superb in the Tranmere midfield. The terrier like Tranmere number twelve put in an excellent performance, getting forward well as well as putting in some key tackles as he broke up opposition attacks all over the pitch.