Kane Hemmings scored the only goal as Tranmere secured a 1-0 Sky Bet League Two win at Leyton Orient, but it was not enough to reach the play-offs.

The Merseysiders' hopes of finishing in the top seven depended on them claiming victory on the final day while requiring both Swindon and Sutton to fail to win, but both rivals did edge their matches to ensure Rovers will be playing fourth-tier football again next term.

Orient made the early running, with Aaron Drinan and Paul Smyth going close.

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Only an upright denied Orient from going in front in the 30th minute when a 25-yard free-kick from Tom James hit a post.

However, the visitors went ahead against the run of play in the 37th minute when Hemmings ran onto a cross from Josh Dacres-Cogley to send a close-range header into the net.

Despite having much of the possession after the break, Orient failed to test the visitors' defence although they were denied the opportunity of an equaliser in the 76th minute when referee Seb Stockbridge initially awarded them a penalty for handball before changing his mind after consulting with an assistant.

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon refused to be too downbeat after the game, saying: "It was unfortunate that we couldn't make the play-offs because with the talent we have, there is no doubt we would have been a force.

"I have to congratulate the lads first because it was a tough game but sadly we have come up short and I am bitterly disappointed about that. But I have said in the dressing room, we must regroup and we will get better.

"We are a very young group and the nucleus of the squad will be here again next season so the structure behind the scenes is better than it's ever been.

"We just need to keep growing now and take this young group forward who will learn from this experience. We have so much to be pleased about moving forward."

Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens refused to talk about the controversial decision that denied his team a penalty, saying: "I won't waste my time and energy on the last game of the season talking about the referee as the fans let him know what they thought about his performance.

"We have a really good 14 or 15 players but we just need to find that icing on the cake and bring three or four real quality players in and we can compete with clubs like Tranmere who I suspect will be up there again this time next year."

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