With the Xbox team not playing it was the PS4 team that took centre stage this week.
VPG Championship South - TRFC esports 3-1 VPG Wolves FC
The PS4 team started the week with a double header on Monday night with the first game coming against VPG Wolves FC.
Only three minutes had gone when Tranmere striker Lee Marsh was brought down inside the Wolves area, the referee pointing to the spot. Marsh himself stepped up to take but was denied by a good save by the Wolves keeper low to his right-hand side.
Midway through the first half, Rovers did manage to take the lead. A free kick on the left-hand side was worked superbly well into the box and centre back Liam Bailey, better known as Compo, smashed the ball into the net from just outside the six-yard box.
Rovers then had to wait until the 55th minute to double their lead. Irishman Shane Dempsey threaded a lovely ball through to Curtis Aaron who saw his shot smash against the far post. Fortunately for Rovers, Lee Marsh was following in to head in the rebound from close range.
Lee Marsh was involved yet again with 12 minutes to go. The striker played in Keith Burke and the left winger was brought down inside the Wolves box for another Rovers penalty. After missing the first, Marsh handed over the penalty taking duties to Burke and Burke made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it 3-0 to Tranmere.
Rovers then had a chance to make it four moments later. Curtis Aaron produced a sublime bit of skill to outwit the Wolves defence and the Wolves centre back could only bring him down for yet another penalty. Aaron himself stepped up to take but was thwarted by another fine penalty save from the Wolves keeper.
Wolves did manage to get a goal back late on when Brother found the net for Wolves but it was Tranmere who picked up all three points and moved back to the top of the VPG Championship South.
VPG Championship South - TRFC eSports 2-0 Scunthorpe eSports
Scunthorpe eSports were the opponents for the second game of the evening with Rovers looking to avenge a 1-0 defeat from earlier on in the season.
Rovers were the better side and could have taken the lead midway through the first half. Shane Dempsey chipped a beautiful ball over the top for Keith Burke but his shot was well saved by Slann in the Scunthorpe goal. With 32 minutes played it was AutoKorrect’s turn to pull off a fine stop with the Rovers keeper diving to his right to keep out a shot from just outside the box.
This was a wake up call for Tranmere and they should have taken the lead shortly afterwards but Lee Marsh somehow fired wide when in space inside the Scunthorpe box. The striker did make amends with 20 minutes to go, latching onto a poor header from a Scunthorpe defender before stroking the ball into the right-hand corner of the net.
Tranmere doubled the lead four minutes later. Reece Walker did well to win the ball on the left-hand side midway inside the Scunthorpe half. The left-back played a pass to Curtis Aaron, the winger taking a touch before unleashing an unstoppable drive into the top right-hand corner with the Scunthorpe keeper getting nowhere near it.
That was enough for the PS4 team and they saw the game out to pick up yet another three points in the VPG Championship South.
VPG Championship South - TRFC eSports 1-1 Austrian Force esports
The PS4 team went into the game missing a couple of key players, including midfielder Shane Dempsey and defender Chris Murtagh. Despite this, they went into the game full of confidence after opening up a five point gap at the top of the Championship South table.
A tight start to the game meant the first chance didn’t fall until the 16th minute of the game. A scramble inside the Austrian box eventually found its way to Reece Walker but the left-back could only fire wide from 12 yards out.
With just over half an hour played, Rovers striker Rhys Conroy saw an overhead kick from a corner cleared off the line by one of the Austrian defenders as the PS4 team looked to open the scoring.
Conroy did manage to open the scoring not long after, steering home a loose ball from near the penalty spot following good work from Keith Burke on the left. It should have been two just moments later. Reece Walker chipped a superb ball over the Austrian defence but Curtis Aaron was denied by the Austrian keeper when one-on-one.
To make matters worse, Austrian Force found an equaliser just two minutes later. A clearance from a Tranmere corner found them three against three on the counter attack with the Rovers players racing back to support the defence. Reece Walker was able to put in a great tackle but the rebound fell kindly for an Austrian Force player and he made no mistake from 12 yards.
Tranmere did all they could to find a winner in the second half with Curtis Aaron and Rhys Conroy both being denied by the Austrian Force goalkeeper but it wasn’t to be and the points were shared.
VPG Championship South - TRFC eSports 2-0 Ragnarok eSports
The final match of the week saw Tranmere take on Ragnarok esports with virtually a full-strength side. There was also a debut for striker Nathan Ley following the unexpected departure of Lee Marsh.
Rovers took the lead in the 19th minute and it was the debutant that found the net. Some great passing from Tranmere ended with Shane Dempsey, back after missing Tuesday’s draw, playing the ball through for Nathan Ley to run onto and place past the Ragnarok goalkeeper.
For the next 40 minutes it was a drab game with both defences standing firm and giving nothing away but on the hour mark Tranmere’s Jamie Scott forced a good save from the Ragnarok goalkeeper with the rebound falling to a Ragnarok defender.
Ragnarok had a rare foray forward with 12 minutes to go but Kenla could only find the arms of Tranmere goalkeeper AutoKorrect with his shot from distance. AutoKorrect was in the action again with three minutes to go, getting into a mix up with Rovers defender John Warrington. Fortunately, Warrington was able to deflect the resulting shot away for a corner.
Rovers killed the game off with an injury time goal and it was Nathan Ley who scored his second goal of the game. Ley played in Curtis Aaron on the right and good hold up play from the winger allowed him to find Ley as he ran into the box. Being six yards out with just the keeper to beat the former Oxford esports man was never going to miss and he duly converted to give Rovers a 2-0 win.
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