SKIPPER Peter Clarke admitted it was a difficult afternoon’s work for his Oldham players as they battled to a 1-1 draw at Tranmere.

Johan Branger’s effort five minutes before half time gave Frankie Bunn’s men a deserved advantage going into the interval, Branger reacting quickest from Gevaro Nepomuceno's deflected corner to slam the visitors ahead with the Rovers defence static.

However, Connor Jennings levelled proceedings with 18 minutes to go, after Oldham had missed several opportunities to put the game to bed, Jennings converting after the Latics failed to clear their lines from a corner.

Oldham’s calls for an infringement in the build-up to Rovers’ goal fell on deaf ears, but despite their frustrations, Clarke was pleased with his players on a tricky afternoon on Merseyside.

“It was a good performance from us and we were definitely worth our lead,” said Clarke.

“To be honest I think we deserved all three points but we've been undone by a poor refereeing decision.

“Coming to play a Tranmere team at Prenton Park is never going to be easy and it was a tough, physical game.

“We played our way into the game and we could have probably done better with some of the other chances we had, too.

“Unfortunately we didn't take them and we paid the price for that. But there are plenty of positives to take from the performance.

“In the latter stages we were still looking to go forward and get a winner, but we are still pleased to come away with a point.

“We'll look forward to the next game with confidence on the back of this positive performance and we are moving in the right direction.

“There were a lot of changes in the summer, a new manager came in too, and we are still learning a lot about each other.”