Tranmere’s hopes of an FA Cup run came to an abrupt end as they were beaten 2-1 by Oldham Athletic in the first round.

James Norwood returned to Prenton Park to equalise in the first half, before Jesurun Uchegbulam’s deflected effort was enough to seperate the two sides and send the National League side into the hat for the second round draw.

This was a third loss in a row at the hands of Oldham, leaving Nigel Adkins side with just the league and EFL Trophy to focus on in their hunt for success this campaign.

Oldham made it four wins out of their last five as former Rovers boss Micky Mellon enjoyed his return to the Wirral.

Both teams had chances early on in an end-to-end start to this FA Cup fixture, but the hosts managed to get a hold of the game first.

A delightful seventh minute counterattack set Kieron Morris on his way down the right flank before finding Connor Jennings who finished into the bottom left corner.

Tranmere continued to show their quality with intricate passing in tight areas following the opener but couldn’t find a vital second goal.

The visitors looked to have equalised in the 19th minute. Sam Clucas’ volley troubled Luke Mcgee, who tipped the shot over the bar. Clucas’ resulting corner found the back of the net but was deemed to have left play prior to nestling in the goal.

Oldham survived the following onslaught from Tranmere and managed to get an equaliser through former Rovers man Norwood against the run of play.

A counterattack found Josh Lundstram on the right whose pass was perfect for Clucas to back heel into the path of Norwood who was able to guide the ball into the bottom left corner.

Athletic came out for the second half with a point to prove. Substitute Jesurun Uchegbulam cut inside from the left, wrapping an effort which looped in the air via a deflection and over Mcgee to take the lead.

Oldham dominated the second half, matching the nullification of their opponents efforts with a barrage of attacks down the other end of the pitch.

Seven minutes of injury time were full of dedicated defending and desperate attacking as Tranmere struggled to make any of their chances count.


Tranmere will now look ahead to a home fixture against Newport County in the league next weekend as they aim to get back to winning ways.

Tranmere rovers XI:  Mcgee (GK), Norman, Davies ©, Turnbull, Wood (Hawkes 90′) , Morris (Dennis 90′) , Hendry, Finley, Patrick, Jennings, Norris

Subs not used: Murphy, Bradshaw, Davison, Saunders, Taylor, Solomon, O’connnor

Oldham Athletic XI: Hudson (GK), Ogle, Kitching, Clucas (Uchegbulam 61’) , Lundstram(Hammond 87’) , Conlon ©, Raglan, Caprice, Payne, Norwood (Fondop 87’), Drummond (Khan 76)

Subs not used: Moloney, Gardner, moore

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