Tranmere Rovers will travel to Morecambe on Sunday afternoon trailing 2-1 with the Lancashire side securing the win at Prenton Park.
Peter Clarke was the goal scorer for Rovers on the night, but only one goal seperates the two teams.
More than 3,000 TRFC fans were in attendance, and cheered their team on throughout, a great sight to see!
James Vaughan made his first start for the Club since our win at Leyton Orient in late February, as our top goal scorer partnered Corey Blackett-Taylor in attack.
Meanwhile, Morecambe, who finished in fourth position in League Two, were led from the front by former TRFC striker, Cole Stockton.
Rovers dictated the opening stages of the game, roared on by more than 3,000 home supporters, winning four corners in the first seven minutes as they put the early pressure on the Lancashire side.
An episode of ping pong inside the Shrimps penalty area caused mayhem as Rovers looked to stab the ball home, but Morecambe hacked clear, with the SWA encouraged with what they had seen so far.
However, Dawes and Parkinson’s men were wary of Morecambe’s strong statistics this season, and even when not seeing plenty of the ball, can punish teams, a key reason why they came within one game of automatic promotion.
A deep cross from Jay Spearing picked out the run of the returning Vaughan, and on the diving header, our number nine directed his header just wide of the mark.
Morecambe silenced the home crowd with 15 minutes played as Nathanial Knight Percival chested a cross past Joe Murphy, a cruel blow to the way Tranmere had started the match.
But Tranmere’s response was emphatic, and Clarke, standing in for TRFC legend, and Club captain, Scott Davies, connected with a Liam Ridehalgh cross to send Prenton Park in bedlam in the 19th minute.
Minutes later, Vaughan turned on a six pence and had a strike on goal, as Tranmere looked to turn the game completely on its head.
Tranmere were consistently putting on the pressure, as they tried to break down a compact Morecambe team, with Vaughan and Jay Spearing both having sights on goal.
Rovers boasted nearly 80% possession in the first half, but it was Morecambe went into the half time break 2-1 to the good when another deflected strike found it way past Tranmere, a very harsh blow.
The second half started with a lengthy break as a Morecambe player was injured, but Rovers again had another sight on goal as a Clarke header was hacked off the line.
Tranmere were struggling to match the same intensity from the first half, and with 20 minutes to go, Danny Lloyd, Paul Lewis and Kaiyne Woolery were introduced for Feeney, Khan and Blackett-Taylor.
Rovers nearly grabbed an equaliser from a corner which was well saved and directed behind, but Morecambe were trying to manage the game out and take their lead back to the Lancashire coast.
In the 78th minute, Vaughan was withdrawn for David Nugent, a solid return to action from Vaughan with the second leg only three days away.
A cross deep by Spearing nearly connected with Nugent perfectly but the striker was off balance.
However the visitors took the lead back to their ground for Sunday's second leg with Tranmere having work to do.
Murphy, O’Connor, Clarke, Monthe, Ridehalgh, Spearing, Morris, Khan (Lewis 70), Feeney (Lloyd 70), Blackett-Taylor (Woolery 70), Vaughan (Nugent 78). Unused subs: Jones, MacDonald, Nelson,
The return leg, which will be played on Sunday 23rd May at Morecambe, will kick-off at 12.30pm and will be available to listen to live on iFollow. To subscribe, please CLICK HERE.
The match report is sponsored by MAIN.