Tranmere Rovers were defeated 3-1 at home to Walsall in our penultimate home game of the season.
The visitors had an early sight of goal four minutes in, but Ryan Stirk volleyed wide.
Rovers’ first real chance came 13 minutes into the game when Rob Apter raced down the right before crossing inside towards Connor Jennings, who flicked the ball backwards to Josh Hawkes, but it just evaded the winger.
Tranmere went close again four minutes later when Regan Hendry latched onto a loose clearance in the box from Walsall, but the midfielder’s shot was fired wide.
Moments later at the other end, Luke McGee was forced to deny Isaac Hutchinson with a fantastic reaction save.
Tranmere took the lead through Hendry on 25 minutes after Apter cut inside and Rovers worked the ball inside for the Scot to stroke home into the far corner.
Rovers almost doubled their lead just two minutes later with a dipping effort from Apter, but Jackson Smith tipped it over the bar.
The Tranmere momentum continued as Reece McAlear was next to go close, his free-kick from just outside the box striking the crossbar before Smith could get to it.
At the other end four minutes from the break, an excellent diving save from Luke McGee denied the head of Emmanuel Odegboyega.
Two minutes into first-half stoppage time, Walsall equalised through Jamille Matt to take the scores level into the break.
Ten minutes after the break, McGee made a strong save from a Stirk shot from just inside the box to keep us on level terms.
Walsall took the lead two minutes later when Taylor Allen’s long-range free kick was picked up by a strong wind to nestle into the bottom corner.
The visitors made the most of the wind advantage in the second period, Brandon Comley striking from range on 68 minutes to extend Walsall’s lead to 3-1.
McAlear curled in a corner with 15 left on the clock, and Apter headed it against the far post.
Late on, substitute Harvey Saunders headed a corner wide as Rovers pushed to pull one back, but ultimately the visitors took the 3-1 victory.
Tranmere Rovers: Luke McGee, Lee O’Connor (Kristian Dennis, 73), Tom Davies (C), Jean Belehouan, James Norris, Rob Apter, Regan Hendry, Reece McAlear, Josh Hawkes (Harvey Saunders, 63), Connor Jennings, Luke Norris.
Unused subs: Conor Robson, Chris Merrie, Sam Taylor, Paul Lewis, Dan Pike.
Walsall: Jackson Smith, David Okagbue, Liam Gordon, Isaac Hutchinson, Jamille Matt (C) (Mo Faal, 66), Joe Foulkes, Brandon Comley, Josh Gordon (Douglas James-Taylor, 77), Taylor Allen, Ryan Stirk, Emmanuel Adegboyega.
Unused subs: Owen Evans, Donervon Daniels, Priestley Farquharson, Ross Tierney, Danny Johnson.
