Match report: Tranmere 3 - 1 Huddersfield Town

Mar 16 2009 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

At the interval Tranmere brought on Edrissa Sonko for the injured Terry Gornell and the change seemed to enliven Rovers’ partnership in attack with Bas Savage stepping up his game.

The man with the radical blue rinse began to torment Town’s defenders and on 50 minutes delivered what was the killer blow in the contest.

Despite receiving the ball wide in the left channel and heading away from goal, Savage found – or arguably was needlessly allowed – the time and space to turn and set himself for a right foot strike that zipped into Smithies’ top left-hand corner.

A great goal that was given a suitably extravagant celebration as Savage ran to halfway to perform a pretty impressive moonwalk.

Three minutes later the visitors were two down and pretty much out as a free kick delivered by former Town player Andy Taylor was met by a weak defensive header from Andy Butler and the ball fell invitingly for Kay, who slammed home his second goal.

In the final stages Ian Craney could have clawed Town back into the game, but equally Kay could have completed his hat trick – but the truth was that there was only one winner.

Town’s next big task is to work out how they can ensure that they are the ones who enjoy the regular feeling of being winners.