Ronnie Moore felt his side were good value for their place in the second round draw of the Capital One Cup after watching them defeat Chesterfield 2-1 after extra time at the Proact Stadium.
Rovers scored through Cole Stockton and Abdulai Bell-Baggie and the Manager was pleased with his team’s performance.
He told Tranmere Player: “We deserved it. The disappointing thing for me was that we had to go into extra time. It was a brilliant finish by Lester but we had the ball in the left back spot and should have gone long instead we gave it away and made it easy for them. Give our lads their due, they’ve kept going and kept going and you won’t see a better goal than Bell-Baggie’s.
“We’ve got six missing, three of them centre halves. For Ben Gibson to travel from Middlesbrough today, meet everybody in the dressing room, put a shirt on and play like that was unbelievable. He was nice and strong. The back four were good and all over there was some good football.
“We’re young, we’ve got a bit of pace and we can counter attack. Robbo was outstanding and on another day could have had a hat-trick.
“We’ve picked up one or two knocks and the extra time will have taken it out of us. But if we can perform like that we’ll be competitive. We’ve got lads who will have a go and never know when they’re beaten.
“There are three or four with ice on them but hopefully that’s just as a precaution. They have to do the right things now, rehydrate tonight and get their feet up tomorrow.”
Though Ash Taylor will return from international duty before the weekend, with both Ian Goodison and Mark McChrystal unavailable for the start of the League 1 season, he still hopes to bring in another centre back on loan.
He added: “Goodison won’t play on Saturday. He’s limping and if Goody is limping he’s hurt. He’s had a scan today and if it’s cartilage he’ll be out for six to eight weeks. McChrystal is out for two to three weeks, McGurk two to three weeks and Black four to six weeks.
“I’m hoping to have another centre half in before Saturday.”