Taming of Tranmere followed by 'friendly' defeat

Last Wednesday we produced an exceptional performance to defeat a young Tranmere Rovers side full of energy and packed with technically good players.
In our first game under our new floodlights it was a terrific game of high quality football which saw us win 3-1 having been three goals to the good by half time.
There were so many positives to take from the game- the tempo of our passing and our workrate when we didn't have the ball and also how we defended at times during the second half when we were under pressure would have no doubt pleased the manager.
With our strikers having dominated the scoring so far this pre-season it was surprising that both Russ Jones and even myself managed to get on the scoresheet. My own effort was perhaps the biggest surprise after having only managed to find the net once last term and I was delighted this goal was equally high in quality.
Then to Saturday...
We were well beaten by a strong Vauxhall Motors side and was a good lesson for us in terms of the type of side we'll be facing on a regular basis this season and although I felt the 5-0 scoreline was harsh it serves a timely reminder that we need to be able to perform at a high level consistently if we're to do well this season.
The scenes both towards the end of the game and at the final whistle were regretful and borne out of a frustrating performance. As a squad we just need to move on and learn from it and look ahead to the visit of Skelmersdale to Bastion Road this Saturday.