Tranmere Rovers put in a stirring performance to edge past Curzon Ashton in a dramatic 4-3 win at Ellesmere Port Sports Village.

It took a stunning Jess Brady freekick in injury time to make sure after a plucky Curzon side refused to give up, twice levelling the score.

Katie Bowers Folan pushed the pace early on for Tranmere, getting the first shot in but putting it just wide of the post.

It didn’t take long for the home side to take the lead after Amy Shannon burst down the wing getting a shot on goal. The ball deflected off the goalkeeper into the feet of Anya McCready to score off the rebound to make it 1-0 on 12 minutes.

Curzon responded aggressively earning a free kick on the edge of the box and sending a low driven shot wide.

Kiah Sullivan and Shannon showed great link up play down the right wing for Rovers to open up the visitor’s defence.

As the game swung one way the the other, Curzon began to have more success whilst attacking utilising long balls to get up the pitch.

After defending a series of corner kicks Rovers countered down the left wing where Bowers Folan found Shannon on the edge of the box to fire into the top right corner making it 2-0 to round off a dominant first half.

Curzon came into the second half pushing the pace as Tranmere struggled to adjust after the break and the visitors were soon rewarded. Capitalising on a throw-in Jade Parker managed to get in front of goal to fire into the top right corner.

Tranmere came back fighting, winning possession and gaining forward momentum. Defender Chloe Robinson was in the right place at the right time after the ball dropped to her from a corner where she was able to smash the ball home to give Tranmere a two-goal cushion again.

Curzon started to show their frustration, fighting tooth and nail to win back possession. And Parker broke through on goal in the 74th minute to score from the edge of the box to make it 3-2.

This led to a nervy period for the home side as Curzon continued to push forward, hitting the cross bar as the game went into injury time.

Tranmere’s defence did a good job of holding off the opposition right up until they gave away a free kick just on the edge of the box. This saw Curzon’s Amy Smith score an absolute screamer direct from the free kick to draw the sides level with just minutes to go.

Then it was Tranmere’s turn to respond with an almost identical goal to the one they had just conceded. Brady fired in from a direct free kick outside of the box to secure all three points.

 

Tranmere take on Fleetwood Town Wrens away from home in the next fixture.

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