Dogged Morecambe's battling effort was in vain as they were beaten 1-0 by Tranmere.
Rovers progress to the semi-finals
Dogged Morecambe's battling effort was in vain as they were beaten 1-0 by Tranmere in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy northern section quarter-final.
The League One outfit took the lead moments before half-time and it was enough to see them through to the next stage.
The Shrimps came close to an early goal with Craig Stanley hitting the bar in the fifth minute - and the same player was only just wide with another good strike before being forced off through injury after 34 minutes.
Barry Roche kept the visitors on terms with a series of good first-half saves as he turned aside an early effort by Gareth Edds and then did well to block a Chris Greenacre strike, before making two more good saves to deny Edds.
But the breakthrough for the Merseysiders came in the 45th minute with Ryan Shotton heading home from a Charlie Barnett free-kick.
Morecambe abandoned their defensive policy in the second half but rarely looked like scoring as Rovers remained in command, and home keeper Danny Coyne did not have a real save to make. Tranmere were also lacking in firepower in a low-key second half, but Edds did bring another good stop from Roche three minutes from the end.
