Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins believes there is now a real momentum building at the club after he saw his team come from a goal down to beat Newport 2-1 on a stormy afternoon at Prenton Park.
A Connor Jennings strike with just two minutes remaining secured all three points after Kieron Morris had cancelled out Will Evans’ opener for Newport midway through the first half.
Rovers are now unbeaten in their last six matches, including taking 11 points from a possible 15 in the league, having previously lost six on the trot.
Adkins, whose side are 21st in League Two, said: “It was a special day today and I think it was more than a win really, we’ve got a real momentum going now.
“The atmosphere here at Prenton Park was great, the engagement between the players and the fans was there for all to see.
“We played some really good football at times in really challenging conditions for both sides in the wind and the rain.
“There was some really exciting play and we had some really good chances but with Connor Jennings scoring late on I thought it was a really great day today.
“We knew they would pose a real challenge today but I think we defended really well and I told the players we’d have to enjoy being resolute.
“We’ve got a belief at the club now and at half-time we knew we could still win the game whereas before that might not have been the mindset.”
It was the away side that looked the more dangerous in the early exchanges and they should have taken the lead after 14 minutes when Omar Bogle’s left-footed strike was saved by Luke McGee only for Evans to fire wide of the open goal with his follow-up.
But just six minutes later, Evans made amends when he latched onto Aaron Wildig’s flick to lash the ball home from 10 yards out and put the visitors ahead.
Tranmere were level 10 minutes after the break when Morris fired the ball home from the edge of the area with the help of a deflection off a County defender.
After that there appeared to be only one winner as Rovers pushed forward at every opportunity in search of a second with Rob Apter firing just wide and Morris crashed a long-range effort against the crossbar.
And the deserved winner eventually came in the 88th minute when Jennings found himself in the right place to steer the ball home after Kristian Dennis’ initial effort had been blocked.
Newport manager Graham Coughlan said: “It was a game of two halves really.
“The first half we looked good and passed the ball to each other but in the second half I don’t know what happened.
“We lost composure and the ability to pass and looked like a different team in the second half.
“Having said that, the opportunities we had, we’ve got to take them, we should be coming in at half-time two up.
“I don’t know whether it’s a mentality thing but we seem to go one-nil up in games and then all of a sudden we sit back and defend deep and that’s never been a recipe for success.
“At the end of the day that’s three points we’ve thrown away. We had a really good opportunity to get all three points today and quite simply we’ve thrown them away.
“The conditions were tough, but that’s the same for both teams. The simple fact of the matter is that the second half performance just wasn’t good enough.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
