AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson was keen to focus on the positives despite seeing his side miss out on the League Two play-off places following a 3-2 defeat to Tranmere at Prenton Park.
Harvey Saunders put Rovers ahead in the 35th minute, racing clear and slotting the ball past Nik Tzanev after the Dons failed to clear the danger.
Rovers doubled their lead just before the break when Rob Apter netted his 13th goal of the season with a lovely strike from the corner of the box.
The Wombles halved the arrears 10 minutes after half-time when substitute Josh Kelly scored his first goal for the club, calmly placing the ball past Luke McGee in the Rovers’ goal.
But Jackson’s men faced an uphill battle when John-Joe O’Toole received a straight red card for a nasty looking challenge on Chris Merrie.
And with 20 minutes remaining, Rovers took full advantage when Connor Jennings restored their two-goal lead before Josh Kelly grabbed a consolation for the visitors in injury time with his second of the game.
Wimbledon boss Jackson said: “From our point of view it was two contrasting halves today.
“I thought we started the game alright but then gave away a soft goal, and after that I thought we were poor and lost our way a bit.
“We came out in the second half on the front foot and then got the red card, which I thought was harsh, but to be fair to the boys they kept going and we nearly got something out of the game.
“The season is done in terms of getting into the play-offs but, on reflection, we’ve progressed massively this season and we just couldn’t get over the line, but we’ve moved on considerably from last season.
“It’s my job in the summer to keep making those improvements and if we keep moving the club forward like we have, then next season we won’t fall short.”
Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins said: “It was a well-deserved victory today with five goals for the fans, but it should have been a lot more from our point of view.
“There was some good football in a competitive game and we created some good opportunities with Luke Norris playing up front as a centre-forward.
“What a super goal from Rob Apter while Connor Jennings scored a great team goal and Harvey Saunders was a real threat in the first half with his electrifying pace and deservedly put us in front.
“From my point of view we played some good football, scored some good goals and got a well deserved victory, so great credit to the players.
“We should have scored a few more, but we’re creating chances and we’re scoring goals. Obviously I’m disappointed with the two we’ve conceded but let’s not be too negative.
“We’ve finished the season off well at home and got a great reception from the crowd, who really got behind the team today.”
Everyone wants to beat Leverkusen, says Alonso ahead of Frankfurt clash
Bayer Leverkusen continue to edge towards a remarkable unbeaten season and Xabi Alonso acknowledged every club wants to put that run to an end.
The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions moved a step closer to a treble after beating Roma 2-0 away in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Alonso's side have also reached the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern as their extraordinary 47-game unbeaten run continues across all competitions.
Leverkusen, who ended Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title to secure their first trophy since 1993, travel to sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
"We want to stay unbeaten and we know every week it gets tougher. Everyone wants to beat us," Alonso told reporters.
"It hasn't been easy in Frankfurt in recent years, they've always a tough opponent with a flexible system of play. We don't have much time to prepare."
The 42-year-old Spaniard will be watching the Frankfurt game from the stands after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season during his side's 2-2 home draw with Stuttgart last week.
"You can see the game better from the stands and I can communicate with the bench," he said.
"I will miss the direct contact with the team during the game but the players are intelligent enough to decide situations individually on the pitch."
Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place
Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino were both on target as Al-Ahli tightened their grip on third place in the Saudi Pro League table with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday.
Matthias Jaissle's team were four goals up within just 25 minutes as Damac folded, Ziyad Al Johani and Feras Al Brikan netting their first two before Franck Kessie was felled by Dhari Al Anazi for a penalty, converted by Mahrez.
Firmino then tapped home a fourth after being teed up by former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin on the break, but Al-Ahli took their foot off the gas from there, Domagoj Antolic's second-half consolation rounding off the scoring.
Elsewhere, 10-man Al-Riyadh scored two stoppage-time draws to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in Al-Mubarraz.
Goals from Djaniny and former Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan put Slaven Bilic's hosts on the brink of victory, with Al-Riyadh playing almost half the game a player down after Khalid Al Shuwayyi's 54th-minute red card.
An astonishing collapse denied them, however, with Mohammed Al Shwirekh halving the arrears one minute into stoppage time before Didier Ndong headed in a left-wing cross three minutes later.
Thursday's other game saw Al-Hazm and Al-Akhdoud play out a goalless draw, keeping the hosts bottom of the table while Al-Akhdoud inched two points clear of the relegation zone.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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