Chelmsford City 1 Tranmere Rovers 4

Chelmsford City bowed out of the FA Trophy at the hands of National League promotion hopefuls Tranmere Rovers, following defeat in a third round replay at Melbourne Stadium tonight.

The Clarets had done so well to hold Rovers to a 1-1 draw in the original tie at Prenton Park, but the visitors were out of sight by half-time, having built up a 3-0 lead.

A poor back pass by defender Chris Bush enabled Rovers to break the deadlock on the half-hour mark, with Jake Kirby rounding keeper Ross Fitzsimons to slot into an empty net.

Tranmere doubled their lead when a cross by Steve Jennings was headed into his own by Mark Haines for an unfortunate own goal, and Ritchie Sutton made it 3-0 with a looping header from Buxton’s free-kick.

The Clarets got on the score-sheet on 62 minutes, thanks to Elliott Buchanan’s volley, but Kirby ran through to grab his second and Tranmere’s fourth.