League

Golcar Stadium
Spectators: 7426 (Terracing: 5645, Seating: 1731, VIP seats: 50) Swanage's Nicky Wicks started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Vance Ingham took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 5th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Leon Goldsmith. Tranmere Raiders's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. 6 minutes into the match, Sean Turner notched a goal, 1-0, to the right of Swanage's Kris Le Tissier. Kris Le Tissier was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. 11 minutes into the match, Swanage's goalkeeper Kris Le Tissier had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Alan Burrows. When Alan Burrows came up free with the goalie in the 14th minute, the Tranmere Raiders fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Alan Burrows couldn't finish the play. Kris Le Tissier made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alan Garrett in the 15th minute of play. In the 20th match minute, Swanage was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by James Boulton to maneuver through the defense. Swanage's Nicky Wicks got a good chance for a goal in the 30th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The supporters of Tranmere Raiders booed when Swanage was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 35 match minutes in a wonderful position. Vance Ingham didn't get a good kick on the ball. Alan Burrows sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Swanage's Vance Ingham got a free kick in the 37th minute. Kris Le Tissier showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Alan Garrett, who was totally free with the ball in the 38th minute. In the 41st minute, Sean Turner hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Nicky Wicks had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 44th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Alan Garrett to make the kick off. The supporters of Swanage booed when Tranmere Raiders was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 59 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gerry Shields didn't get a good kick on the ball. Nicky Wicks recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 65th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Nicky Wicks sent away a hard shot on goal in the 67th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Leon Goldsmith took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nicky Wicks, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Albert Christie kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. Kev Blythe took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 77th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Leon Goldsmith. Tranmere Raiders's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Leon Goldsmith took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nicky Wicks, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 78th match minute, Tranmere Raiders was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gerry Shields to maneuver through the defense. Leon Goldsmith showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nicky Wicks in the 86th minute of the match. James Boulton sent away a hard shot on goal in the 89th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Kris Le Tissier didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Alan Garrett went, in the 94th minute, to the upper right corner, 2-0 was the resulting score. Swanage's supporters were dissatisfied at the end of the match because Tranmere Raiders had won, even though Swanage had held more of the ball.