KEVIN Nolan came off the subs' bench to grab a glorious late equaliser to take this third round FA Cup tie to a replay.

Second Division Tranmere appeared to be heading for a well-deserved victory after Simon Haworth put them in front in the 52nd minute, knocking in the rebound after Mickey Mellon's shot came back off the post.

Substitute Ricardo Vaz Te almost equalised with his first touch in English football just seconds later. But Wanderers struggled to fashion any decent chances and toiled as they tried to keep Tranmere in check.

It took a series of important saves by the impressive Kevin Poole to keep them in the game before Nolan emerged the hero 11 minutes from time, taking a pass from Henrik Pedersen and fashioning a chance for himself with a determined run before cutting inside to beat John Achterberg with a measured strike.

The Tranmere keeper saved bravely at the feet of Stelios and was fortunate to escape penalty appeals when he took out Vaz Te with a bodycheck in injury time as Wanderers pressed hard for the winner their performance hardly deserved.

Tranmere: Achterberg, Roberts, Sharps, Allen, Linwood, Roberts; Mellon, Jones; Hume, Beresford; Haworth. Subs: Navarro for Sharps 72 mins, Dadi for Hume 86 mins. Not used: Howarth, Hay, Ashton.

Wanderers: Poole; Livesey, Thome, Comyn-Platt; Hunt, Barness, Stelios, Ba, Smith; Facey, Pedersen. Subs: Frandsen for Hunt (h-t), Vaz Te for Smith 53 mins, Nolan for Ba 70 mins. Not used: Ricketts, Talbot.

Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent).

HALF-TIME REPORT

Wanderers' veteran keeer Kevin Poole -- in for Premiership regular Jussi Jaaskelainen -- pulled off two important saves from Haworth as Brian Little's Second Division side threatened an upset.

He also breathed a sigh of relief when Haworth, the former Wigan striker, rattled the crossbar with a header from a Graham Roberts cross.

Wanderers started promisingly with Delroy Facey, put through by Nicky Hunt, hitting the post with a cracking right-footer after just three minutes.

Stelios tried to motivate a response to Tranmere's ethusiasm but Wanderers never seriously tested John Achterberg.

TEAM NEWS

IBRAHIM Ba's threatened boycott of Wanderers' FA Cup tie came to nothing when the French midfielder was a surprise inclusion in the team at Prenton Park.

The former AC Milan player has still to agree the terms of a new deal to replace his existing contract, which expires next Thursday, but backtracked on his refusal to allow himself to be cup-tied.

His U-turn offered Wanderers a modicum of experience in midfield as Allardyce made nine changes to the side held 2-2 by Leicester in the Premiership last time out.

Only Nicky Hunt and Stelios retained their places with Ivan Campo, Ricardo Gardner and Kevin Davies suspended and others, including Youri Djorkaeff and Jay-Jay Okocha, rested.

Kevin Poole replaced Jussi Jaaskelainen in goal with new signing Donovan Ricketts on the bench after joining Wanderers on loan from Jamaican club Village United.

Henrik Pedersen, Delroy Facey, Jeff Smith, Danny Livesey, Emerson Thome and Charlie Comyn-Platt were all promoted to the starting line-up. Teenagers Ricardo Vaz Te and Jason Talbot were given places on the bench.

Tranmere: Achterberg, Roberts, Allen, Sharps, Hume, Mellon, Haworth, Jones, Taylor, Linwood, Beresford. Subs: Howarth, Dadi, Navarro, Hay, Ashton.

Wanderers: Poole, Barness, Stelios, Pedersen, Ba, Hunt, Facey, Smith, Livesey, Thome, Comyn-Platt. Subs: Ricketts, Nolan, Frandsen, Vaz Te, Talbot.

Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent).