Morecambe boss Derek Adams was full of praise for his players as they overcame Tranmere 1-0 to move up to eighth in the League Two table.
The Shrimps were given a helping hand by Jordan Turnbull’s own goal 18 minutes from time but Adams felt his side were worthy winners.
He said: “Tranmere are a really good side but tonight we managed to get the better of them.
“It was a great team performance overall to get us the win. We had to make changes but everyone that came in showed great character and the team ethic was superb to keep the clean sheet and put ourselves into a fantastic position in the league.
“Their keeper was outstanding and kept them in the match and we could have won by a greater margin.”
The game was decided by a huge slice of misfortune for Turnbull, who was unlucky to divert a superb Chris Stokes cross past his own keeper Luke McGee.
Tranmere had plenty of possession but it was Morecambe who created the better chances, with McGee twice saving well from JJ McKiernan in the first half after good work from Tom Bloxham.
The visiting keeper had to be at his best after the break with a superb save from Bloxham’s close-range effort with his feet and another excellent block from Michael Mellon.
The Shrimps finally broke through with Turnbull’s own goal before Connor Jennings wasted two great late chances for the visitors.
First he fired over from 18 yards before missing the target from close range after Adam Smith had saved well from substitute Rob Apter.
Tranmere’s caretaker boss Nigel Adkins admitted the defeat was a blow but was proud of his team’s efforts.
He said: “We are in the mire at the moment but you could see tonight how everyone is together and fighting for this club.
“Everyone could see the commitment and with every single player and every member of staff giving their all for the cause and for this football club.
“On another day we could have scored three, four or five goals but it hasn’t happened and one really unlucky deflection (decided the game).
“Ultimately we didn’t get the result we were after but our luck will change because we will all work as hard as we can to make sure that does.”
