Cambridge United 1:1 Morecambe.

Things could have been much worse at Cambridge

Morecambe should have travelled the two hundred miles or so to Cambridgeshire in January for what would have been the most significant game of the year – and perhaps the season – at that date. But storm damage to the main stand roof at the Abbey Stadium meant that the tie was postponed. So tonight, they belatedly faced Cambridge United for the second time this term in League One. Last September, the U’s had just slipped out of the Play-Off positions into ninth place in League One. They deservedly won 1-2 at the Maz to push themselves back into seventh and contention for promotion once again.

But since then, the Cambridge wheels have well and truly come off and even in January, they would have faced an opponent one place above them in the table. Then, Morecambe were nineteenth before kick-off; level on points (24) and games played (25) with United but with a Plus Ten superior goal difference. Tonight, just over seven weeks later, the situation is as follows: Morecambe are two places above the `U’s’ in the Dead Zone of the League One table: twenty-first. They have a Plus Nine goal difference over Mark Bonner’s club. Having played the same number of league games – 34 – they were just three points ahead of United prior to kick-off.

The Shrimps have lost three of their last five league fixtures; drawn one and obviously won a single game as well. Cambridge, though, have also won only one game from their last five but lost all the rest, including three defeats in a row culminating with a home 0-1 reverse to Portsmouth last Saturday.

But Morecambe have a poor record against the Amber Army. Many of us remember the Shrimps – as a non-league club – beating EFL Cambridge 2-1 during 2000 in the FA Cup at Christie Park. But United also inflicted Morecambe’s record EFL defeat – seven-nil – on them in the Football League at this venue during 2016. In League One specifically, Stephen Robinson’s Shrimps lost to the Amber Army last season at home 0-2. Once the Ulsterman had abandoned the club to its apparently inevitable fate, Morecambe lost again in the Fens, being beaten 2-1 in one of Shrimps’ Redeemer Derek Adams’ early attempts to rescue the team from seemingly certain doom. So the Shrimps have not only never beaten Cambridge in League One, they’ve lost all three games so far. Altogether, Morecambe have only drawn one and lost six of their seven previous matches against today’s opponents. In all competitions, they have won six; lost nine and drawn three previous fixtures against the U’s. So a reversal of recent form was sorely needed tonight. The Shrimps have only won a single game away from home this season – at seemingly doomed Forest Green Rovers last year. They are yet to score away from the Maz this year as well. The Abbey Stadium would thus be a really good place to try and improve on this pretty dire record.

As far as tonight’s game is concerned, King Derek’s thoughts about the upcoming clash were:

“We’ve had a lot of difficult games recently away from home: Ipswich; Derby; Sheffield Wednesday. They have never been easy games for anyone. We go to Cambridge, a team around about us in the table. There’s only twelve games to go in the season. A lot of points still to be played for. But we will be going there to try to get the win. They are a similar club from the point of view that they are in and around us in the table. We’ve got to a point in the season where we know what to do to stay in this division. It’s a difficult venue to go to. But we’ve got a lot of talented players in our squad.”

Derek bemoaned the fact that Morecambe have not been awarded even one penalty this season. He explained why he thinks this is:

“The referees haven’t got the correct decision. We’ve had apologies from the Association a number of times this season. The decisions haven’t been correct. These big decisions don’t go for you a lot of the time because you are the smaller club.”

Amen to that. Derek was unable to name Jacob Bedeau for tonight’s game due to illness. Dynel Simeu replaced him this evening. Courtney Duffus also made a return to the bench after a long recovery from a serious knee injury.

For the opposition, a particularly nicely-written article on their website ended with the following words last January:

“Although fortunes have changed since then, the head-to-head continues to look extremely pleasing. On Saturday, United look to make it a sixth consecutive success against the Shrimps and extend the unbeaten run to eight. Before that, the group from Lancashire were seen as a bogey team, with the U’s unable to overcome them on six separate occasions, scoring just twice in that time.”

Earlier this week – in an equally well-written and interesting take on other club’s perceptions of our own – the same site added the following:

“Efficient in the loan market and in crafting more of a no-nonsense side, Adams has ensured the 2022/23 version of Morecambe suit his 3-5-2, and most recently 4-2-3-1, system to a tee. Penalty king Connor Ripley has already established himself as a fan favourite between the sticks, whilst Farrend Rawson and Jacob Bedeau are complimenting each other well of late, keeping two clean sheets in three. In the centre of the park, mainstay Liam Gibson has been joined by promising loanee Liam Shaw, who plug away to provide for former U Jensen Weir, who has popped up with an impressive nine strikes– the trio are energetic and work in unison to break up play and spearhead attacks. January signing Daniel Crowley has excited the Shrimps’ faithful, his creativity could be crucial in the run-in, as could the goals of last season’s hero Cole Stockton, the focal point who will want to add to his three strikes in 2022/23.”

Under pressure U’s Head Coach Mark Bonner said this before the match:

“This is a big occasion and we have to turn up for it; relish it and look forward to it, despite the fact that we’re in a situation that we’re in. We have to remember that the other teams are in that situation too. The pressure is the same for everybody. We need to make sure that pressure brings out the best of us.”

It was dry but very cold as the match kicked-off in the Cambridge darkness. Morecambe lined-up in the unusual combination of blue shirts with white shorts and socks. The home team went straight on to the front foot and for the first half an hour or so, they were the better side. They were more assertive; quicker to the ball and seemingly more revved-up than their opponents throughout this time. In the first minute, Jack Lankester squandered a cast-iron chance when he headed over the bar when unmarked right in the middle of the away penalty area. With thirteen minutes played, Max Melbourne was then caught in possession in an advanced position on the Shrimps’ left. United immediately broke in the shape of the impressive James Brophy as he drove forward towards the U’s left. He found a centrally-placed Paul Digby in the centre of the field just outside the away penalty area. The Cambridge Skipper kept feinting to play the ball one way and then the other before sliding a killer pass forwards to Lankester who lost his marker and then made no mistake this time with a shot which went under Connor Ripley’s body.

This was Cambridge’s first goal in the last four games and they continued to dominate possession for about the next fifteen minutes.

With nineteen minutes played, central defender Lloyd Jones let fly from the edge of the Morecambe box straight at the away stopper. Then, after more good approach play by the hosts, Michael Morrison warmed Connor’s hands with another shot after 22 minutes. Two minutes later, Conor McGrandles’ wild shot didn’t trouble the Morecambe goalkeeper. At the other end, in a rare foray forward, Daniel Crowley played-in Jensen Weir with a brilliant pass and Dimitar Mitov in the home goal did really well to keep his shot out of the net by diving low to his right and pushing the ball away for a corner. This was after twenty-five minutes. But less than sixty seconds later, Ripley made a save from Lankester that he didn’t know a lot about as The U’s struck on the break. The Shrimps were still looking shaky particularly on their left flank until Melbourne went down off the ball seemingly suffering from a hamstring injury with almost half an hour played. On came Adam Mayor to replace him – and the game totally changed with his introduction.

Young Adam defended properly but also took every opportunity to drive forwards with the ball. The momentum in the match thus totally changed for the last quarter of an hour. Cambridge Skipper Digby had to leave the field briefly with a blood injury with 37 minutes played. The visitors took full advantage, playing the ball into the home penalty area and seeing the men in yellow struggling to clear their lines for the first time in the game. But Liam Bennett had another decent chance for the hosts when he struck the ball just over the bar with a powerful strike after being picked-out on the United left by Brophy with forty minutes on the clock. Despite the visitors having most of the play, Weir’s sliced attempted clearance on the right edge of the Morecambe penalty are fell perfectly for Joe Ironside, whose instant shot went just wide of the target. This was right on half-time. But the visitors hit back immediately on the break. Mayor took the ball up the Morecambe left flank; played it to Ash Hunter, who’s deep cross was headed away by Ryan Bennett only as far as Weir on the edge of the home penalty area. Jensen walloped it but Cole Stockton added the subtlest of touches to turn the ball past a helpless Mitov with his head almost at ground level to tie the match on the night. It could have got even better for the visitors during injury time. Morecambe broke down their left again following a Cambridge corner; Mayor found Weir whose cross went right across the United goal-mouth as Hunter only just failed to connect with the ball as he slid-in with the goal gaping.

So that was it for the first half. The second started with the visitors still in the ascendency but then changed again as Mark Bonner shuffled his pack with three changes after about 65 minutes.

Stockton played Hunter in with a fabulous pass from the Morecambe left with only two minutes of the re-start played and Ash forced an excellent save from Mitov. A minute later, Crowley found Captain Donald Love in the away penalty area and he seemed to be fouled. But Morecambe have not been awarded a penalty so far this season and Referee Paul Howard wasn’t about to change the script. (To be fair, though, he had a really good game tonight.) As the home crowd expressed their displeasure with their side at times, Sam Smith and Morrison both missed with weak headers just before the hour. Just after it, the home stopper collected Weir’s deflected shot without too much trouble. Sixty-four minutes had been played when a poor pass by the hosts saw Hunter free to attack up the Morecambe left but his shot at the end of it was way off target. After the Cambridge changes, however, Cole the Goal fouled Morrison centrally about thirty yards from the visitors’ goal. Substitute Steve Seddon took the free-kick – and was denied only by a stupendous save by Connor high to his left: tremendous efforts by both men. The U’s forced a sequence of corner kicks after this and Ripley again did well to save a Lankester shot after about seventy minutes. Lloyd Jones then dived in the Morecambe penalty area – and the Referee rightly booked him for diving. Having said that, I can think of officials I have seen this season who would have awarded United a penalty…

Eight minutes later, Weir walloped another shot over the bar from the edge of the Cambridge penalty area. With ten minutes left, United counter-attacked down their right through sub Shilow Tracey but the shot he set-up for Smith was easily saved by the big man between the Shrimps’ sticks. Virtually the last action of the game was when Seddon missed with a poor shot from a long way out in the eighty-seventh minute.

So the game ended all-square. A point each doesn’t really help either team but at least neither lost. That can’t be said for some of their rivals this evening. Accrington Stanley lost 3-0 at Accrington and relegation out-riders Fleetwood lost 2-0 at Wycombe. So the Shrimps and the U’s ended-up in exactly the same place at the end of the game as they were before it: 21^st and 23^rd respectively. Accrington remain just one point and one place better off than Morecambe and Burton a single point and single place ahead of them. But both clubs – worryingly – have played two games fewer than both teams who met at the Abbey tonight.

This was Derek Adams’ verdict on tonight’s draw:

“We could’ve got three points, so could Cambridge, so I think a draw at the end of the night is fair. I thought Cambridge started the better side. They came out very well and created a number of good opportunities. They got the goal with their pressure and deserved to get that goal. We changed shape, grew into the game and we were able to get the goal to make it one-one.  Just before half-time, we could’ve made it two-one with a great opportunity. The ascendency changed from Cambridge being the dominant team in that first period to us being the dominant team. I think, over the night: yes we’ll take a point.”

Cambridge United: 1 Dimitar Mitov; 4 Paul Digby (C); 6 Lloyd Jones (Y); 7 James Brophy (42 Steve Seddon 65’); 9 Joe Ironside (18 Shilow Tracey 64’); 10 Sam Smith; 14 Jack Lankester (35 Kai Yearn 81’); 21 Ryan Bennett; 23 Michael Morrison; 24 Conor McGrandles (Y) (8 Liam O’Neil 64’); 28 Liam Bennett.

Subs not used:  25 William Mannion; 2 George Williams; 27 Ben Worman.

Morecambe: 1 Connor Ripley; 2 Donald Love (C); 3 Max Melbourne (25 Adam Mayor 29’); 4 Liam Gibson; 5 Farrend Rawson; 8 Daniel Crowley (17 Caleb Watts 73’); 9 Cole Stockton(24 Courtney Duffus 90’);10 Ash Hunter (22 Josh Austerfield 90’); 15 Jensen Weir; 20 Liam Shaw; 29 Dynel Simeu.

Subs not used: 12 Adam Smith; 6 Ryan Delaney; 21 Ryan Cooney.

Ref: Paul Howard.

Att: 5,225 (122 from Morecambe. Well done everybody – it’s a hell of a long way back on a freezing Tuesday night…)