Tranmere punish profligate Grimsby

Tranmere made it back-to-back home wins with a 2-0 victory over Grimsby at Prenton Park.

The away side enjoyed the better of the early exchanges with chances falling to Harry Clifton and Gavan Holohan while Danilo Orsi had a glorious opportunity to open the scoring when he headed straight at Rovers goalkeeper Mateusz Hewelt from close range.

But it was Tranmere who took the lead in the 33rd minute when Josh Hawkes calmly converted from the penalty spot for the second time in a week after Harvey Saunders was tripped in the box.

Two minutes into the second half, Rovers doubled their lead when Rhys Hughes fired home a fierce free-kick from the left-hand side of the area to catch out Town goalkeeper Max Crocombe.

The Mariners continued to create chances and were unfortunate not to find the net with Clifton firing wide from six yards and skipper Luke Waterfall’s close-range header forcing a good save from Hewelt.

Rovers could have put the result beyond doubt when Hawkes came close with 10 minutes remaining but Ian Dawes’ side held on to return to winning ways and end a run of three games without defeat for Grimsby.