Tranmere Rovers 0 - 2 Nottingham Forest

When the boot's on the other foot - a game during which we struggle to stamp our authority and yet still walk away with ultimately a fairly comfortable win. And, to quote a catchphrase from one of those Cider ad's from a few years back: What a refreshing change - when it's not us who dominates possession only to lose out through failure to make those chances count.

Having missed the Bristol Rovers game midweek, complete with (not surprisingly) the sound of a few more knives being sharpened, (and instead having to stay at home and read about and listen to yet more whining by that pathetic figure who answers to the name of Arsene 'chip-on-shoulder' Wenger) I'm enjoying a rare achievement of seeing three wins in a row, two of which have been away from home (a very rare Lancashire Red feat). Considering how frustrating this season has been, I've achieved a bizarre record in which out of all the games I've actually attended I've seen us lose only once (the Leeds home game last August).

Today represented a first for two reasons: After months of gentle persuasion I'd finally managed to drag my girlfriend along to a game for the first time, and although I could claim her presence brought us good luck today, she insists the win had nothing to do with her! For me, it was my fourth visit to Prenton Park, and going into this game I had yet to see us win here.

Anyway, enough of firsts and fortunes, how was the match? Well, it won't go down as the most entertaining one I've seen this season, not in the first half at least. We struggled to make much impact early on, and although Tranmere were dominating possession they were not making it count. It was some time before they actually got a shot in, though Smudge hardly found Ian Moore's effort testing, and another attempt skidded across the goalmouth with no-one in a position to capitalise. Sounds a bit like us on a bad day, come to think of it!

The few times we did manage to get forward, we did tend to resort to the old hoof 'n hope routine, and we still dont seem to have learnt the lesson that Tyson, for all his pace and skill is hardly renowned for winning balls in the air. So why was every ball sent in his direction aimed at minimum head height? Added to that, he looked quite isolated since Garath McCleary was playing too wide, (being repeatedly out-muscled and closed down by Ian Goodison) and Ormerod was simply too deep, and you sensed we might be in for another long afternoon.

So then it came as a welcome surprise when, on 34 minutes that the latest of these long balls, this time from Chris Cohen, managed to find Tyson's feet for a change. He had one defender to beat, which his pace took care of quite nicely, and although Danny Coyne was coming out to meet him, Nathan managed to steer the ball past, and although the ball already looked goal-bound (at least from where we were sitting), Tyse was able to keep up with it and tap it home from six yards. Our first real chance of the game, and executed in fine smash and grab style it was too, even if it looked a little fortuitous. The TV camera's angle made it look a little better though. Well happy!

Tranmere, understandably were feeling pretty peeved by this setback, especially since Greenacre had had a goal disallowed for offside a quarter of an hour earlier, and although they came close shortly after we'd taken the lead, the nearest they got was the side netting from Goodison's effort. But credit to a modified Forest back line today - with Brecks restored to to the starting line-up at the expense of Kelvin Wilson - who defended solidly. Perch was also a surprise inclusion ahead of McGugan and whilst I have frequently criticised Perch for some wayward passing this season, you couldn't fault his tackling today, shaded only by Big Wes who drew plenty of chants of 'You'll never beat ..' from the fans, and with good reason too. He was best player by a mile today (well, it can't be Julian Bennett every week?).

So, a contented travelling support at half time and, following an intital bombardment from Tranmere (and a weak header from Chris Shuker), even more cause for contentment following a short corner right in front of them. McCleary passed the ball to Cohen who sent the ball across for it to find Big Wes pop up on the far post and power a bullet header into the roof of the net. A superb goal which, unlike our first goal, actually looked far better at the time than the angle which the TV camera saw it - my girlfriend's comments, strangely enough. One game and suddenly she's the expert!

With Tranmere making little serious threat on Smudge's goal, even with a succession of corners late on, you somehow sensed this game was in the bag and job done. The sun came out, Forest started to play quite well with assured and confident passing (and to feet, no less!), and the travelling fans launched into a full repertoire of songs in a style reminiscent of five years ago when we were play-off's bound under Harty (though why some fans seemed more interested in - and singing about - how many goals Villa were putting past D3rby at Prideless Park was beyond me). A really good feeling as it looked ever more likely I was finally going to witness a Forest a win here. Commons came on with just over 20 minutes to go, much to my girlfriend's delight (especially since he did nothing for me to moan about this afternoon) and Thornhill replaced Ormerod for the final few minutes. To be honest it was one of those games in which I checked the time not once, especially as we grew more comfortable as the second half progressed.

Eventually the full time whistle sounded and we launched into suitable celebration at a job well done, though no less than expected after dropping points midweek. With Carlisle losing to Leeds earlier in the day, amazingly it remains a mathematical possibility for us to still gatecrash second place if they or Doncaster fail to win two of their remaining three. Still a long shot, but with our final run-in slightly kinder than Carlisle's or Doncaster's, who knows?

Tranmere - with all that possession with nothing to show for it - will of course be kicking themselves, probably in a similar way we were doing after we failed to beat Walsall having failed to banish the bogey team mentality, a light in which Tranmere seem to regard us these days, especially when you consider the last time they beat us (my first visit to Prenton Park) was the same season we last defeated Walsall, so there are certainly parallels.

Even if the automatic promotion scenario fails to materialise, we've almost secured our place in the end-of-season lottery (and would have done had Walsall not won today) and maintaining this run will be essential so we can approach the play-offs with the right level of confidence (too much, and we get a repeat of last year), and, just as important, a desire to actually WANT promotion.

The fans want it, let's just hope the club does too.

Ref Watch: G Hegley - Kept the game flowing for as long as possible, even if this meant missing a few crude tackles near the end. Not too bad overall, though.

Entertainment Value: Overall, little more entertaining than the last time I came here 18 months ago, but Forest improved as the game progressed, and a two-goal advantage certainly makes a difference. 6/10

Atmosphere: Were there any home fans there today? Excellent vocal support provided by the travelling fans with a vintage repertoire of songs.

Highlights: Good defending, especially during the second half to give us yet another clean sheet; Wes's bullet header to effectively kill the game.

Lowlights: Took a while for us to get going, and allowed ourselves to be pinned back rather too easily; too many high balls pumped upfield to an isolated Tyson early on rendered our attacks ineffectual.

Stinker: Not today.

Stormer: Wes Morgan - it may have taken him this long to grab his first goal of the season, but today he was awesome at both ends of the pitch.