Joseph Bowden presents a minute-by-minute report from Glanford Park:

Scunthorpe United: Lillis, Mills, Byrne (c), Sparrow, Hayes, Hooper, Mirfin, Woolford, McCann, Togwell, Pearce.

Substitutes: Crosby, Thompson, Slocombe, Wright, Trotter.

Tranmere Rovers: Coyne, Taylor, Chorley, Kay (c), Moore, Jennings, Edds, Sonko, Barnett, Curran, Shotton.

Substitutes: Achterberg, Gornell, Cresswell, Taylor, Burns.

Referee: Mr. S. Tanner

14:38: This is it then, the whole season boils down to the forthcoming ninety minutes of football, in what Nigel Adkins has billed as the playoff "quarter final"... Simply put, United must avoid defeat to guarantee that they take last available playoff place.

14:46: An exciteable atmosphere is really starting to build now. There's roughly fifteen minutes to go until the big kick-off, and a very good proportion of the crowd are up singing and swaying along to United's adopted anthem 'Hi-Ho Silver Lining'. This is the loudest I can remember a crowd been pre-match at Glanford Park for some time to be honest. The decibel level raises further when Henri Lansbury walks onto the pitch to give the United faithful a wave goodbye (he won't be involved today, due to the injury he sustained on Tuesday evening).

14:55: There's a roar of huge proportion as the two teams make their way out of the tunnel and onto the pitch. It's just like a cup final here. United have already beaten Tranmere at Glanford Park this season, during their Johnstone's Paint Trophy campaign (by two goals to one). Let's hope that they can produce a similar outcome this afternoon.

First-Half:

1 Minute: Tranmere kick-off. It begins.

3 Minutes: Tranmere's Ian Moore has the first effort on-goal of the day. He sends a tame header straight into Josh Lillis' gloves. Nevertheless, initially the Tranmere fans let out an expectant roar, thinking the effort was better than it was.

5 Minutes: Tranmere are putting United under the cosh a little at the moment. They've just won a corner, which Krystian Pearce sees clear; and a second or so before that forced David Mirfin into a poor backpass which Josh Lillis did well to clear.

10 Minutes: United corner. Chants of "Iron, Iron, Iron" fly around the ground. McCann whips it in, and a blunder by Danny Coyne gifts United another corner. Coyne gets booked for disputing the decision to give United another corner. Krystian Pearce then loops a header over the crossbar. Encouraging.

14 Minutes: Andy Taylor breaks down the left flank, and gets a powerful cross into the box. It's one of those crosses that defenders hate, because if they put a foot on it it could go anywhere. Attackers, on the other hand, love them, as Ian Moore demonstrates. He flicks an outstretched boot at the ball, and turns it narrowly over the crossbar. Tranmere could easily have taken the lead then.

23 Minutes: United have their first clear chance of the game from open play, as Gary Hooper nicks the ball on the edge of the area, and cuts inside. He then fires a low drive outside the near post.

29 Minutes: United have the ball near the corner flag with Paul Hayes. Hayes turns on it, and then wedges the ball towards Martyn Woolford who without taking a first touch, angles a volley just over the crossbar. It was dipping though. A few yards further back and that would've been 1-0 to United - it had Coyne well beaten.

31 Minutes: United are looking a little sharper now. They've just won two corners in quick succession, and are looking generally more fluent with the ball.

35 Minutes: Grant McCann floats a free-kick into the area. David Mirfin pulls clear of his marker, and gets his head to the ball... But can only manage to send his header wide of the target.

39 Minutes: Ian Moore gets into the area. No United defender dare tackle him, and he slaloms around a little before picking out Craig Curran at the far post. Curran flings himself at the ball. 1-0 to Tranmere.

Scunthorpe United 0 Tranmere Rovers 1

44 Minutes: Woolford provides Gary Hooper with the ball, and as the striker runs along the edge of the 18-yard area the anticipation really starts to build. Hooper looks really dangerous, we all think he just might equalise. Then his shot slams back off the advertising hoarding. Unlucky.

45 Minutes: Josh Lillis is called into action, and makes two very good saves to keep United in the game. 

Half-Time:

15:48: At the interval Tramere lead, and to be honest, judged upon the balance of play, the deserve to be ahead. In the first period, they've taken risks, and really forced the issue. United will have to change something at some point if they're to get the result they require.

16:00: The teams begin to re-emerge. It's all or nothing for United now. To be or not to be, that is the question?

16:01: United replace Joseph Mills with Andrew Wright.

Second-Half:

46 Minutes: Tranmere's Steve Jennings works his way into the book after deliberately clipping Grant McCann to disrupt the flow of a United attack.

49 Minutes: United are playing better now. They're starting to get some intricacy into their attacking play, and are zipping the ball around well in the Tranmere half. In addition, they really do look determined now.

52 Minutes: Paul Hayes powers his was down the right-wing, and after botching a one-two with Cliff Byrne, gets the ball back off the Tranmere defender to spin a shot off-target.

54 Minutes: Gary Hooper wins the ball in the Tranmere area. Unselfishly he squares it to Paul Hayes. But Hayes takes his eye off the ball, and rolls a poor shot across the area, rather than at goal. He could have scored then, quite easily.

57 Minutes: Hayes again finds himself on the wing with the football, after Martyn Woolford slides him through. Hayes hits a left-footed cross into the area, and Gary Hooper nods it narrowly over.

59 Minutes: Josh Lillis punts a goal kick forward, and it goes all the way through to Gary Hooper in attack. Hooper takes a initial poor touch however, and as the ball starts to run away from him he slams a volley wide of goal.

61 Minutes: Martyn Woolford shows some decent skill to turn inside Edrissa Sonko, and then lay the ball off for Paul Hayes. Hayes chips a shot just over the crossbar from about twenty yards out.

62 Minutes: United corner. It's sent in by McCann, and drops for Gary Hooper at the back-post. Hooper sends a header at goal. But he was never really going to be able to beat Coyne from there.

63 Minutes: Gary Hooper sends a drive at goal from just within the area. It hits a Tranmere player. The United fans seem to think it hit him on the hand. The referee gives Tranmere a free-kick.

64 Minutes: Matthew Sparrow, who has played out of his skin today, is replaced by United's classy winger, Garry Thompson.

67 Minutes: Twenty-three minutes left. In the last few minutes United have lost a little momentum. This was epitomised when Hayes broke clear, and slipped the ball towards Hooper; but Ben Chorley easily intercepted it.

69 Minutes: Cliff Byrne launches a throw into the area, which Martyn Woolford chests down, and backheels to Paul Hayes. Hayes strikes a vicious first-time shot at goal. It looks like it's gone in to everyone around where I'm sat. Side netting.

74 Minutes: Hooper is dargged to the floor, and United win a free-kick in Grant McCann territory. Can he repeat his Wembley heroics..? Not this time - he sends it flying over the crossbar.

75 Minutes: Aaron Cresswell is replaced by Charlie Barnett.

78 Minutes: This time, Hayes has the ball in the area. He volleys the ball at goal. It hits a Tranmere defender, bounces off him and falls absolutely perfectly for Gary Hooper. Hooper scuffs his shot over the crossbar. Hayes falls to the ground with his head in his hands.

79 Minutes: I said that United didn't play amazingly in the first half, and realistically they didn't. In this period, they have played wonderfully however; and if they don't score, then I think that somebody 'up above' doesn't like them, because they have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Tranmere.

80 Minutes: Pearce leaves the field, and is replaced by Liam Trotter.

86 Minutes: Tranmere are down to ten men. Gareth Edds gets a second yellow cards for an abysmal tackle on Woolford. United then score. The resulting free-kick is whipped in, and Cliff Byrne makes it two in two with a header at the back post. I have never, ever heard the roof raise at Glanford Park like it just did. The music to accompany the scoring of the goal was pretty much inaudiable! And how fitting that Cliff Byrne, the heart and soul of Scunthorpe United got that goal.

Scunthorpe United 1 Tranmere Rovers 1

90 Minutes: Tranmere's Antony Kay is replaced by Ashton Taylor.

91 Minutes: Garry Thompson breaks, and places a shot towards the back-post. Danny Coyne pushes it away, and it drops for Gary Hooper who almost nicks the win... But his effort is cleared off the line.

Full-Time:

Scunthorpe United 1 Tranmere Rovers 1

16:53: Never before has a draw felt so much like a win (well, at least since the Leicester match eight days ago!). What a fantastic game football can be. United are in the playoffs. They'll play MK Dons.