Andy Crosby proud of ‘big boys’ performance’ as Tranmere edge out Fleetwood

Tranmere manager Andy Crosby said his team put in a “big boys’ performance” after Charlie Whitaker’s seventh goal of the season secured Rovers a 1-0 victory over Fleetwood at Prenton Park.

The decisive moment came in the 23rd minute when Whitaker reacted quickest to fire home from six yards after Kristian Dennis’s header fell into his path.

It saw Rovers bounce back from two consecutive League Two defeats, and Crosby said: “We weren’t perfect but we showed some resilience, that was the most important thing.

“We put in a big boys’ performance and did a lot of the dirty work, which I’ve obviously questioned over the last few days.

“Without being negative, I think it was an open game. At the start, they had some opportunities and then so did we.

“In moments previously, we have conceded and have generally been unable to swim against the tide and gone under.

“But when we were up against it in the second half, we showed some resilience and some unity and some passion, some togetherness to stick in there and suffer collectively.

“We’ve been found wanting too many times this season, but today we weren’t.”

Fleetwood had threatened to take an early lead, with Matty Virtue was denied from close range by Joe Murphy before Will Davies’ follow-up was cleared off the line by Jordan Turnbull.

At the other end, Whitaker had already gone close, striking the crossbar from three yards following a corner.

The visitors pushed for an equaliser after the break, Ethan Ennis being denied by Murphy and Mark Helm firing narrowly wide.

Tranmere absorbed the pressure and almost doubled their advantage when Billy Blacker was denied by a fine save from Jay Lynch.

Despite late efforts from Ryan Graydon and Lewis McCann, it was Rovers who held on to take the three points.

Fleetwood manager Pete Wild, after seeing his side lose just their second game in 10 matches, said: “The story of the game is that we had a mad 10 minutes.

“We don’t defend a cross well and then we have all the ball, we have them pinned in their own half for all the game. We had enough chances to win two football matches today.

“Performance-wise it was really good, and we created chances, but we’ve got to take those chances.

“We’ve also got to stop giving teams a leg up when the last thing they deserve is a leg up.

“We should have been two up in the first 10 minutes and their goalkeeper has done amazing.

“Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve. The process was good but we didn’t get the outcome today, which is highly frustrating.

“I don’t think we were helped by the officials, who didn’t get a grip of the time wasting, but we’ve got to take our chances and that’s the story of the game.”