Stockport County . . . 3, Tranmere Rovers . . . 1

Attendance: 7,903

LUCKLESS Tranmere lost another match they should have at least taken a point from, but a wonderful second-half goalkeeping display by former Rovers star Eric Nixon won the match for Stockport.

County, predictably, relied on long balls for the giant figure of Brett Angell, and Tranmere battled superbly in a dismal first-half. Nixon gifted Rovers the lead on 32 minutes when he seemed to take his eye off the ball, and Tranmere Player-manager John Aldridge nipped in to roll the ball into an empty net.

Terrible defending from a corner allowed Stockport an equaliser with three minutes of first-half stoppage time played. Chris Byrne's deflected effort gave Steve Simonsen no chance.

Then, two minutes into the second-half, Stockport took the lead with a quite magnificent goal. Kevin Cooper seemed to have all the time in the world and promptly sent a 35 yard effort flying into the top corner.

The match then became the Eric Nixon show, with two astounding saves to deny Aldridge's goalbound header and a point-blank stop from Gary Jones. Simonsen also saved well from Byrne before non-existent Tranmere defending allowed Angell to coolly beat Simonsen in the dying moments.

John Morrissey was outstanding for Rovers, but they are now just two points from the bottom of the Nationwide League Division One. With no transfer funds available for Aldridge, something must be done before the unthinkable gets too close to reality . . .

Tranmere: Simonsen, Stevens, Morgan, McGreal, Challinor, Irons, Morrissey, Aldridge, G. Jones, O'Brien (sub: Parkinson, 77 mins), Mellon. Subs (not used): Mahon, Hebel.

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