Happy Valley – or Valley of Death for Morecambe?
Morecambe visited The Valley in south east London for the first time ever today. They arrived to face Charlton Athletic with the hope of keeping out of the relegation zone in League One – a position they were avoiding prior to the game by virtue of a single more goal scored than twenty- first placed Gillingham. In their last five League One games, their two-game winning streak following two hammerings away from home came to an end when they narrowly lost 2-1 against Cambridge last Saturday.
Critically, they would renew an acquaintance – at least off the field – with former Club Captain Sam Lavelle. When Sam left the club earlier in the season, his absence immediately had a profound effect on the way the Shrimps performed at the back. It could be argued, indeed, that it has taken Derek Adams’ return to the club to stabilise a Back Four which looked like rabbits in headlights more often than not in the absence of their departed Skipper. Sam’s new club found themselves comfortably in fifteenth place in the division before kick-off – a position his presence will certainly have helped to achieve after Athletic’s very poor start to this season’s campaign. He was absent with a groin injury as Morecambe came from two nil down to draw with the Addicks last November at the Maz, which was the only other meeting between the two clubs ever. Sam has picked-up a shoulder injury subsequently and missed Charlton’s fantastic win at promotion-chasing Rotherham by the only goal of the game last Saturday as well. He won’t play again this term. For his new employers, though, this was one of three victories in their last five league games, during which run they have lost just once.
Charlton Manager Johnnie Johnson said about his own hopes for what is left of the season:
“I told the players this morning, there are four games to go, can we get twelve points? That is the aim: can we try and win every game? We are in a decent place; form-wise we are playing well; we have bodies coming back and a decent squad to pick from. Every game we go into I expect and want us to win and finish the season strong. I’m not really focussed on what position we finish or who we finish above. It is more on us and can we win every game we play? We have known that we are not going to get promoted or relegated for a few games now. I want (it) to be the case with every game – that it is not apparent that we are not playing for promotion or relegation. I don’t want that to be a factor within the game. Your players also have self-motivation as well and should have the desire to play well and win every game. That should come from within. That is how we have approached every game and I don’t expect that to change at all.”
As far as today’s opposition is concerned, he added:
“We won’t be taking them lightly at all. They’re another team that is fighting for their lives, they are going to bring that to The Valley, they are going to be scrapping for everything so we know that we have to match that and be in the game. I expect my players to get on top and take the game to them because we are at home. That is how I like to play against whoever we do. We will respect them. They have the top scorer of the league in their team, they have got goals and Stockton is a threat at any given time so we have to be wary of that. They are where they are and have conceded goals and lost games because they have vulnerabilities that we need to exploit. We will respect the fact that they are fighting for their lives and it is important that we match that.”
Before talking about what might happen over the Easter weekend, Mr Johnson’s Opposite Number Derek Adams looked back to his initial stint at Morecambe. He arrived for the first time to deal with a reality where the Shrimps were in dire straits and looking at the distinct possibility of losing their EFL status altogether. Derek said:
“When I came to this football club, we were in a situation where it was very similar, and we had to get ourselves away from the bottom of the table. Let’s see how it pans out after this weekend. We’ll have a better idea going into Monday, and then after Monday, we’ll have a really good idea how it goes for the next two games. We’ve got ourselves into a situation where we’re out of the bottom four at this moment in time, that’s where we want to be. We understand the fixtures that are coming up, but you just never know in football what you can do. I’ve been a manager for so many years; I’ve played against a lot of big teams and been able to get results. So as a player going onto that pitch, you just never know when that win’s going to come along, and hopefully it is Friday.”
Acknowledging that Goal Machine Cole Stockton had scored his twenty-fifth goal in all competitions this season last time out, he added:
“It’s important that other players score goals as well. We’ve had that with Arthur (Gnahoua); Phillips and Wildig at this moment in time helping Cole. We obviously need Connolly to get a goal as well because that would help us even further. He’s been a great outlet for us on the right-hand side because of his pace and direct play, and over the games that I’ve seen, we are starting to click.”
There was little change to the Morecambe starting eleven from recent times. On the bench, however, there was a welcome return after a prolonged illness for Anthony O’Connor.
It was sunny and actually warm – 21˚C – in the capital as the game started. Watching from afar on i-follow, it was a relief to see King Derek shaking hands with the opposition before kick-off: the caption on the screen assured that that “Caretaker Manager Mark Trueman” was in charge of the north Lancashire team today.
The game started at a cracking pace and the outstanding Corey Blackett-Taylor was away down the Addicks’ left straight from the start but was no match for Greg Leigh. Athletic switched the play to their right straight after this as Alex Gilbey ran rings around Ousmane Fané and slung over a low, dangerous cross which drew the first save from Trevor Carson at the near post. Just three minutes were on the clock when Greg beat Blackett-Taylor again, this time in the air. After six minutes, Jayden Stockley latched–on to a long ball into the visitors’ penalty are but Rhys Bennett did brilliantly to block his resulting shot. Then Mr B-T skinned Leigh on the Charlton left and put a ball right across the Morecambe goal-mouth just a minute later before he took a wild punt at the goal a minute after that and missed – by a mile. The tenth minute had been reached before the away side made their presence felt going forward. Captain Aaron Wildig fed Dylan Connolly on the Shrimps’ right and his excellent cross into the centre found Cole Stockton, who was just unable to sort his feet out before the ball was cleared. At the other end, Chelsea loanee Mason Burstow did well to control the ball and shoot after eleven minutes but Bennett did even better to deflect his effort on goal for a corner. Arthur Gnahoua then tried a shot from about thirty yards out and missed as almost a quarter of an hour had been played but straight after this point in the game, the best chance so far fell to the visitors. Arthur was instrumental again as he played in Cole the Goal centrally. He made progress and set himself up for a tremendous shot which home custodian Craig McGillivray did brilliantly to paw away from his top left-hand corner. The Shrimps were in again after eighteen minutes as Connolly put on the after burners to reach a seemingly over-hit ball far up the Morecambe right and slung over a cross which Cole failed to head towards the target. He then got in a muddle with Wildig and Gnahoua after eighteen minutes when the ball reached them in the centre of the opposition penalty area. The visitors had well and truly come into a game which Charlton had dominated for the first ten minutes at least and the threat to their defence which was gradually mounting as the game grew older paid dividends in the twenty-sixth minute. Excellent play first by Connolly and then by Leigh on the right saw Greg pick-out Cole with a pin-pint cross. The Goal Machine did the rest, sending a shot into the net via McGillivray’s right-hand post as the goalkeeper could only stand and watch. A Twenty-Sixth goal of the season in the Twenty-Sixth minute: what could be more apt?
Charlton attacked straight from kick-off and Carson again excelled with a fine save from Albie Morgan’s close-range shot. Just before the half hour, Blackett-Taylor made space for himself in the penalty area and turned and shot in one movement to send the ball quite high over the bar. Morecambe continued to defend confidently and it seemed that the game was drifting towards a narrow lead for the visitors at half time. But after 42 minutes, Morecambe were attacking down the right flank again. Charlton half-cleared the ball but Bennett lobbed the ball from almost the half way line straight back into the danger area. Arthur did brilliantly to control it and then feint before picking his spot and placing a perfect shot to the right of the home goalkeeper again. Right at the death, Carson stopped the arrears being reduced with another tremendous stop, this time from Stockley’s point-blank header high to his left. So Morecambe retired two-nil up – and deservedly so.
The Shrimps fashioned the first half-chance once the game re-started. Connolly was off like a train up the right yet again and sent over another excellent cross which reached Cole the Goal only for his attempt to be blocked for a throw-in. But the home team reduced the arrears after 52 minutes when a break by danger man Blackett-Taylor led to a cross from the left which Burstow headed towards Carson’s far post only for a suspiciously off-side looking Stockley to sweep it home. As the home crowd – who had been haranguing their own players and Manager at half time – briefly came to life, Corey B-T smashed the ball into the side netting just a minute after his excellent work had set-up the goal. The fifty-seventh minute saw the ball fall to Gnahoua when well-placed but he was unable to do anything with it. Two minutes later, though, Liam Gibson pounced on a mistake by the home defence at the back on their right, found Arthur again with a perfect pass and watched him score an absolute scorcher of a goal with an unstoppable volley into the back of the net from quite close in.
The visitors could have gone even further ahead with just over an hour played. Adam Phillips played a killer ball forward which Cole was bearing down on before McGillivray rushed from his area and booted it away. It fell to Dylan out on the Morecambe right and his instant chip from a long way out only just cleared the home keeper’s bar. The visitors then enjoyed a concerted period of possession high up the pitch as Athletic struggled to win the ball. McGillivray was lucky when he flapped at a corner and missed the ball altogether with 66 minutes on the clock. But the Addicks gradually played themselves back into the game and Carson did well to punch a dangerous cross away to safety after 71 minutes. As the pressure increased, there was a half-decent shout for a penalty for the home team after 78 minutes. Some Referees would have given it but Marc Edwards clearly told George Dobson to get back onto his feet as he waved play-on. Just ten minutes were still scheduled to play when another Chelsea loanee – substitute Chucks Aneke – scored with a tremendous header when found unmarked in the away penalty area by a cross from the left. It was Squeaky Bum time after that as the game lasted another fifteen minutes. Cole had another half-chance at the death and Athletic looked dangerous at times but at the end of the game, Morecambe held out to earn a well-deserved victory.
This was a classic Derek Adams Smash and Grab in the style of those he repeatedly fashioned last season. He told the media afterwards:
“We caused them a lot of trouble. We had to suss them out. I thought we did that really well. We locked high onto their back three. We dealt with their Wing Backs with our Full Backs. Our midfield players then locked onto their players. It stopped them playing. When you stop a side playing, it frustrates them. You then go down the side of them and (we) created some really good opportunities even before we scored. We could have gone ahead two or three nil – even before we got that first goal. In the end, (it was) a thoroughly deserved win for us because we created by far the best opportunities in the game. I think – performance-wise – we were accomplished. I thought that the team spirit; the understanding of the Game Plan; the understanding of the roles was excellent. They have to do it, the players. I thought to a man today, they were in top class for this division.”
Elsewhere, things could hardly have gone better for Morecambe today. Relegated Crewe came from behind to beat AFC Wimbledon 3-1. Fleetwood conceded three goals at home to Oxford United in the opening quarter of an hour and were only able to pull two of them back by the end. Donny lost 1-2 to the appalling Bolton Wanderers. And Gillingham – despite twice leading – were held to a 2-2 draw at Cheltenham. So tonight, the Shrimps find themselves in nineteenth position in League One, three points better off than the highest of the relegation berths which the Cod Army now inhabit.
All 350 Morecambe fans at the Happy Valley this afternoon could be heard noisily encouraging their team throughout the match. I know that some of them intend to celebrate today’s tremendous win with a pub crawl along `the Bermondsey mile’ this evening. I have only one thing to say to them:
Cheers! (And have one – or possibly even two – for me…)
Charlton Athletic: 1 Craig McGillivray; 4 George Dobson; 5 Akin Famewo; 6 Jason Pearce (Y); 9 Jayden Stockley; 10 Albie Morgan (8 Jake Forster-Caskey 68’); 11 Alex Gilbey (14 Conor Washington 59’); 16 Adam Matthews; 23 Corey Blackett-Taylor; 28 Sean Clare; 48 Mason Burstow (22 Chuks Aneke 74’).
Subs Not Used: 31 Nathan Harness; 7 Diallang Jaiyesimi; 18 Jonathan Leko; 31 Nathan Harness.
Morecambe: 30 Trevor Carson; 3 Greg Leigh; 5 Jacob Bedeau; 9 Cole Stockton; 10 Aaron Wildig (C) (19 Shane McLoughlin 88’); 11 Dylan Connolly (4 Anthony O’Connor 86’); 18 Adam Phillips; 22 Liam Gibson (21 Ryan Cooney 76’); 24 Arthur Gnahoua; 27 Ousmane Fané; 31 Rhys Bennett.
Subs Not Used: 41 Adam Smith; 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 17 Jonah Ayunga; 25 Alfie McCalmont.
Ref: Marc Edwards.
Att: 10,706 (350 from Morecambe).
