Tranmere won the Mersey Masters title for the second year in a row after outclassing the opposition to win all of their matches at the Liverpool Echo Arena.

Liverpool, Everton and Wigan were beaten as Rovers won a place in the Grand Finals in September.

The opening group match of the evening saw Tranmere - captained by Stuart Barlow - hammer Everton 5-1, with the goals coming from Barlow, Ian Nolan, John McGreal, Eddie Bishop and a Tony Grant own goal.

Next Liverpool were beaten 3-0 thanks to goals from Ged Brannan, Kenny Irons and Georges Santos, a result that meant Tranmere had secured a place in the final with a game remaining.

Despite easing off in their final group game, Rovers still managed to come from behind to beat Wigan 2-1, Santos and McGreal the scorers. The defeat knocked Wigan out and set up a decider in the last group match of the evening between Liverpool and Everton with the latter winning 2-1 to join Tranmere in the final.

Rovers went 1-0 down midway through the first half of the final but Bishop hit the post before levelling with a clever chip over Everton keeper Paul Gerrard. The score remained at 1-1 until Irons blasted the ball into the Everton net with three minutes remaining. Twenty seconds later Santos made the score 3-1 with a deflected effort that found the top corner and with just 15 seconds remaining Bishop scored again to complete a 4-1 victory.

The win completed a great night for Rovers, with both Bishop and Santos finishing joint top scorers and Barlow named Player of the Tournament. The only members of the squad not to find the net were goalkeeper John Achterberg and current Tranmere Youth Coach Shaun Garnett.

New Tranmere Assistant Manager Jason McAteer was also in action for Liverpool and scored one of the best goals of the night as his side finished third.