Memory Lane: Morecambe v Crawley.
Crawley would not be visiting the Globe Arena this weekend to take-on Morecambe FC as they have done five times in the past. Altogether, the Shrimps have beaten the team from Surrey four times in the past, drawn four matches and lost three. So here follows some reports on some of these games, starting with the most memorable. Steve Evans – one of the most disliked figures in British football for very good reasons – brought his top-of-the-table team to the then new venue for the first time. What happened then has entered both Crawley and Morecambe folklore…
Going back to the reason for the game’s postponement, I haven’t received my letter from the Right Honourable Boris Johnson yet. But I would like to share with you the very sound advice as shown on the cover picture.
Stay safe everybody…
Morecambe 6:0 Crawley Town. Npower League Two. Saturday 10th September 2011.
Hats off to Danny Carlton!
All kinds of records were broken at the Globe Arena today: this was not only the home team’s biggest ever win at this venue, it was their biggest margin of victory so far in the Football League; Shrimps legend Danny Carlton became the first player to score a hat-trick at the ground; Jason Price played for the club for the very first time; it was Crawley’s longest trip of the League season and the Red Arrows will be celebrating Morecambe’s very first Top Spot in League Two by flying over the town tomorrow.
Actually – that’s not entirely true. The Red Arrows will fly over Morecambe tomorrow but they were booked ages ago. (Just don’t spoil it by telling anyone…)
When the season started, Crawley were the bookmakers’ overwhelming favourites to storm League Two in the way they overwhelmed all other opposition in the Blue Square Premier last season. Morecambe – on the other hand – were among the favourites to be relegated.
At the start of play, Crawley were where the bookmakers expected them to be: right at the top of the pile. Morecambe, however, were in third position. There’s a long way to go but on today’s showing, the form book has been well and truly turned upside down.
Within a minute, new boy Price showed the home team’s intention by lashing the ball just to the left of the Crawley post from his perspective. After only eight minutes, a fairly innocuous cross from the Shrimps’ left flank should have been dealt with by the visitor’s Centre Half Charlie Wassmer. But – summing-up the performance of the Sussex team throughout the afternoon – he failed to do so and Morecambe’s ace and legendary striker Danny Carleton made scoring look easy. It’s unfair to single-out the blonde-headed defender: only goalkeeper Michel Kuipers emerged with any credit at all from this match as far as the visitors’ rearguard was concerned.
The half – and the game – progressed in much the same way: whenever Crawley attacked (which was often); the home defence looked well-organised, competent and confident. Barry Roche had little to do. But when Crawley were in retreat (which was also often); their defence looked at Sixes and Sevens much of the time, particularly at set-pieces. It was no surprise when Morecambe doubled their lead after 22 minutes when Nick Fenton scored with an unopposed header from a free-kick from the home team’s left and the visitors were lucky not to be three in arrears after total pandemonium overtook their defence with just three minutes to go until half time: Izak Reid eventually narrowly missed after several chances had been squandered by the team in the red strip.
During the second half, Crawley continued to look like they could actually play football when they went forward. In truth, they probably had the better of the possession for the first fifteen minutes or so. But they didn’t do anything with it. At the other end, following another poor individual display of defending from the visitors and commendable persistence from Price, Morecambe’s huge new striker looked up and placed a perfect ball into the path of Carlton for him to hit it like an arrow into the net for the third goal of the game after sixty-one minutes. Just six minutes later, the Shrimps scored again when – after Gary McDonald had hit the bar – Kevin Ellison netted the rebound with a characteristically powerful volley past Kuipers. Even on the end of a four-nil drubbing, Steve Evans’ team didn’t give up. After seventy minutes, they were caught-out yet again though by the speed and incision of a Morecambe counter-attack after a set-piece in the hosts’ half: Izak Reid raced down their left flank and swung the ball unerringly over to set up Danny Carlton for a hat-trick which he arrowed into the net with typical aplomb after momentarily dummying defenders and goalkeeper alike. A drubbing became a rout when Referee Rob Lewis perhaps harshly adjudged Josh Simpson to have fouled substitute Allesandra in the Crawley box: Laurence Wilson made no mistake from the spot.
For Morecambe, everything went right today. For Crawley, this was a serious wake-up call: they played like a non-league team and got exactly what they deserved although six-nil was perhaps a tad harsh. They may have nightmares about a man in red called Carlton with the ability to strike the ball as cleanly as an arrow into their target.
So maybe they won’t be that disappointed that the Red Arrows won’t be flying over their town tomorrow after all…
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 2 Nick Fenton; 6 Will Haining (C) (22 Andy Parrish 81 mins); 15 Chris McCready 19 Laurence Wilson; 16 Stewart Drummond (Y); 18 Gary McDonald; 7 Izak Reid; 11 Kevin Ellison; 30 Danny Carlton (9 Lewis Allesandra 72 mins); 29 Jason Price (10 Phil Jevons 65 mins).
Substitutes not used: 12 Shaun Routledge; 8 Garry Hunter.
Crawley Town: 1 Michel Kuipers; 18 John Dempster; 8 Sergio Torres (21 Michael Doughty 62 mins); 9 Matt Tubbs; 11 Josh Simpson (C); 12 Ben Smith (22 Scott Neilson 55 mins); 13 David Hunt; 15 Dannie Bulman; 16 Glenn Wilson; 19 Scott Griffiths; 20 Charlie Wassmer; 23 Tyrone Barnett.
Substitutes not used: 25 Scott Shearer; 6 Hope Akpan; 17 John Akinde.
Ref: Rob Lewis.
Att: 2054.
Morecambe 3:1 Crawley Town. Npower League Two. Saturday 20th Octber 2015.
Shrimps Crawley up the Table.
Before Tuesday evening’s League Two game between Morecambe and Crawley Town, the teams had met eight times in all and the Shrimps had the slight edge, winning four to the Red Devils’ three. Mark Yates’s side came into the fixture on the back of two home wins against Luton and high-flying Orient but were just eighteenth in the table following some indifferent performances at times this season. The same could be said of the hosts: if Jim Bentley’s team produced the same form at the Globe Arena as they have done sensationally away this term, they would be top of the table. So – following three straight away wins in all competitions – the question before the game was: could the Shrimps reverse the poor form which had led them to lose their last three home games in a row?
In a word: Yes.
The visitors’ Gwion Edwards was booked for diving in the Morecambe penalty area during the first half but the Devils never once tested Barry Roche in the Shrimps’ goal. In a game of few chances, Kevin Ellison opened the scoring just four minutes from half time with a close-range header after the visiting goalkeeper failed to deal with the ball properly. To be fair, this was only Darryl Flahavan’s second game in Crawley’s net after their regular custodian Freddie Woodman was called back to parent club Newcastle recently and the 36-year old – who was released by Bournemouth in the close season – was probably a little rusty. After sixty-four minutes, Kev turned provider when he fed the irrepressible Shaun Miller to score his seventh goal in five games with a shot from the centre of the penalty area. There was reason for a few jitters when Shamir Fenelon had a shot cleared off the Morecambe line by Andy Parish after seventy-five minutes and then Barry Roche parried a shot from Mitch Hancox into the path of Rhys Murphy after 83 minutes, who made no mistake with a well-placed shot. Hancox became the villain of the piece for Town in injury time at the end of the game, though, when his foul on Aaron Wildig in the penalty area led to a spot-kick which was converted by substitute Paul Mullin.
So Morecambe got a monkey off their backs by winning at home. The victory pushes them back into the Play-Off positions in seventh place. The loss leaves Crawley where they were before the game: eighteenth. Jim Bentley announced himself pleased with the result after the game but drew attention to the very small gate. Perhaps more people will be going through the turnstiles on Saturday when his team face Leyton Orient.
Ref: Darren Handley. 1098
Crawley Town 1:1 Morecambe. Npower League Two. Saturday 5th March 2016.
Morecambe Crawl Back Level.
Morecambe travelled to Crawley on Saturday looking to end a run of defeats which has seen the team pick-up only one League Two point from the last possible twenty-seven. The game was poor at times and there were few chances but Alex Kenyon had a header cleared off the line by Jon Walton after nine minutes. The teams went in level and goal-less after a half which gradually deteriorated in quality. Morecambe had another chance to take the lead during injury time, however, when old adversary Paul Jones in the Town goal did well to stop a fierce 20 yard shot from Shaun Miller. The home side upped the ante at the start of the second half and on 57 minutes, just after Miller had lost possession for the Shrimps at the other end of the field, Lyle Della-Verde’s shot was blocked only to fall to Matt Harrold. Crawley’s number eighteen slotted a right-footed shot past Barry Roche into the bottom corner to put the Red Devils ahead.
Falling behind by a single goal and then losing is a pattern which Shrimps fans have seen repeated time and time again in recent times. Manager Jim Bentley keeps insisting that his team doesn’t play badly and rarely loses by more than one goal. He also claims that his team rarely get the rub of the green. Today, however, the Manager showed a lot more ambition than he did last Saturday against Carlisle when he made two negative and defensive substitutions near the end of the game. Today, however, he sent on two forwards – Paul Mullin and Tom Barkhuizen – near the end and they helped to turn the game Morecambe’s way. They got what their play merited – an equaliser and a very welcome point at long last in the eighty-third minute. Miller – in his first game back after suspension – turned a half-chance into a goal against a club where he has been on loan in the past. Chris Doyle got his head to a corner from the right and Miller slammed the ball past Jones with his right foot.
And that was it. The relief in Big Jim’s voice after the game was palpable. The draw keeps the Shrimps in eighteenth position. Mark Yates’ team ended-up two places higher, five points better-off and with a game in hand.
Ref: Iain Williamson 1697
Crawley Town 1:3 Morecambe. Npower League Two. Saturday 18th February 2017.
Crawley Crushed by Mullin.
Morecambe visited the Checkatrade Stadium on Saturday to take on a team just two places ahead of them in fourteenth position in League Two and with one point more in the League Two table. The two teams haven’t met often in recent years as Crawley moved on briefly to a higher division and then returned but the Shrimps have had the better of things during this time including a 6-0 thrashing of the Reds at a time when they were favourites to win League Two five years ago.
Morecambe took the lead almost immediately when Rhys Turner headed in Michael Rose’s precise cross from the left wing with just two minutes on the clock. Crawley responded by storming up the other end where Barry Roche comfortably caught a weak header from old adversary James Collins. Paul Mullin was booked for a clumsy challenge on Conor Henderson after five minutes but a couple of minutes later the on-form Morecambe forward took on the home defence, turned cleverly inside Mark Connolly and placed an exquisite left-footed shot past Glenn Morris in the home goal to make it nil-two to the visitors. Connolly tried an optimistic shot from distance after seventeen minutes which the Shrimps goalkeeper fumbled but was able to recover. At the other end, Big Baz’s opposite number did well after 38 minutes to stop Morecambe going even further ahead, stretching to brilliantly push Mullin’s clever lob away for a corner. But the young striker was not to be denied – when the Reds failed to clear the resulting spot-kick effectively, he was able to try his luck again and this time found the back of the net with another clever lob to put the Lancashire side three goals to the good at half time.
Crawley made a belated effort to get back into the game in the second half but the first decent chance again fell to the visitors after 68 minutes when Connolly did well to clear Lee Molyneux’s effort off the line. Collins had a couple of half-chances before substitute Andy Fleming inexplicably pushed fellow sub Rhys Murphy over in the area for a clear penalty after 75 minutes as he tried to connect with Collins’ pass. Crawley’s number 19 took the penalty and gave the home fans something to shout about at last. Substitute Aaron Wildig had a great chance to restore the visitors’ three-goal lead with five minutes left but his shot from eight yards out was brilliantly saved by Morris. So the game ended with the Shrimps on the front foot and all three points heading home with them to the Lancashire seaside. The win sees Morecambe leap-frog their rivals into fifteenth place. Crawley fall to sixteenth, two points adrift of and with one more game played than today’s opponents.
Crawley: 12 Glenn Morris; 2 Lewis Young; 6 Mark Connolly; 25 Josh Lelan (17 Babson Bawling 89 mins); 11 Jordan Roberts (Y); 44 Conor Henderson; 24 Kaby Djalo (39 Rhys Murphy 45 mins); 8 Jimmy Smith (C); 7 Enzio Boldewijn (Y); 28 Dean Cox (18 Billy Clifford 70mins); 19 James Collins.
Subs not used: 13 Yusuf Mersin; 4 Josh Payne; 14 Andre Blackman; 15 Josh Yorweth.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 2 Liam Wakefield (Y); 5 Ryan Edwards; 16 Alex Whitmore; 6 Dean Winnard; 17 Andy Fleming; 7 Paul Mullin (Y) (3 Aaron McGowan 90 mins); 18 Rhys Turner (11 Kevin Ellison 59 mins); 10 Lee Molyneux; 21 Antony Evans(Y) (15 Aaron Wildig 68 mins); 24 Michael Rose (C).
Subs not used: 12 Danijel Nizic; 27 Luke Jordan; 14 Luke Conlan; 25 Ben Hedley.
Ref: Charles Breakspear.
2091 (49 from Morecambe)
Morecambe 0:1 Crawley Town . Npower League Two. Saturday 7th October 2017.
Morecambe: Poorly against Crawley.
Crawley arrived at the Globe Arena today level on ten points with hosts Morecambe. The Shrimps had won three and drawn two of their previous seven encounters and both sides were urgently looking for points to get them away from the bottom of the table.
On a wet and very windy day in north Lancashire, Morecambe opened the match quite brightly with Steven Old heading at visiting keeper Glen Morris from a corner which was awarded after good work by Mark Connolly to block an attempt from Vadaine Oliver after six minutes. Ten minutes later, the visitors had the best chance of the game so far as Jimmy Smith headed John Lelan’s cross from the right narrowly over the Shrimps’ bar. Just after this, Max Muller gave the ball away and Jordan Roberts found himself with a clear run on goal but his shot was cleared by his namesake Adam for a corner. From this, the ball seemed to go straight into the net from Billy Clifford’s kick to give the visitors the softest of goals to put them ahead with just eighteen minutes on the clock. As the 67 visiting supporters who had made the long journey from West Sussex chanted “Harry Kewell’s Barmy Army!” en masse, Crawley started to dominate and Enzio Boldewijn made a dangerous run into the Morecambe half and unleashed a fierce strike which only just missed the target. Perhaps the key moment of the game arrived ten minutes from the end of the half. The assistant referee spotted an off-the-ball incident involving Kevin Ellison and Kev – no stranger either to trouble or winding-up the opposition throughout his career – was sent off. It was quite a feisty end to the first half with two visiting players being booked in quick suggestion following Ellison’s dismissal but the visitors from the South went into the dressing rooms at the break one goal up.
From the view of the ten men of Morecambe, there was not much to shout about in the second half. Joe McNerney did well to block an effort at the expense of a free-kick from which Old headed the ball down for Aaron Wildig to force a good save from Morris. Five minutes later in the seventieth minute, Morris did even better to save a thunderbolt from the same player low to his left. At the other end, though, Moussa Sanoh had a couple of good runs and close efforts and Connolly might have scored after almost an hour if he had not collided with team-mate Joe McNerney. But Crawley seemed to be content to hold onto their advantage and managed to fight a rearguard action right until the end against ten men. The result shoved the visitors into eighteenth position in League Two – Morecambe, meanwhile, remain becalmed in 21st position.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 17 Mitchell Lund (4 Alex Kenyon 65 mins); 22 Max Muller; 5 Steven Old; 3 Patrick Brough; 8 Andy Fleming; 24 Michael Rose (C) (2 Aaron McGowan 75 minutes); 10 Adam Campbell (Y) (18 Rhys Turner 66 mins); 15 Aaron Wildig; 11 Kevin Ellison (R); 9 Vadaine Oliver.
Subs Not Used: 12 Danijel Nizic; 16 Sam Lavelle; 19 Reece Deakin; 21 Elliot Osborne.
Crawley: 1 Glen Morris; 2 Lewis Young (5 Joe McNerney (Y) 11 minutes); 22 Josh Lelan; 6 Mark Connolly; 19 Cedric Evina; 8 Jimmy Smith (C); 21 Dannie Bulman (4 Josh Payne 35 mins); 7 Enzio Boldewijn; 18 Billy Clifford (26 Ibrahim Meite 71 mins); 27 Moussa Sanoh (Y); 11 Jordan Roberts (Y).
Subs Not Used: 12 Mersin; 17 Djalo; 24 Lewis; 28 Camara.
Ref: Anthony Backhouse.
1222 (63 from Crawley).
Crawley Town 1:1 Morecambe. Npower League Two. Saturday 10th March 2018.
Crawley Granted Draw at the Death…
Morecambe visited the Checkatrade Stadium in Sussex today to face the Crawley Town team managed by former Australian International and Premiership star Harry Kewell which won at the Globe Arena last October. Whereas Crawley were eleventh in League Two prior to today’s contest, the visitors, by contrast, were ten places lower with a nervous eye on those teams around them in the basement of the EFL. Following their one-nil midweek defeat at old Nemesis Accrington, boss Jim Bentley identified two key elements to running a successful football team. First of all, he said, you need luck. `Neutrals’ in the ground suggested to him after the local derby that although Dean Winnard certainly fouled Stanley’s Kayden Jackson to concede the decisive penalty, they also insisted that Jackson had fouled Winnard immediately before the referee blew his whistle. So – Jim suggested – a free-kick to the Shrimps was as likely an outcome as a spot-kick to the eventual winners. But luck would have it otherwise. Similarly, he claimed that `small margins’ made the difference between winning and losing. He suggested that if Billy Kee had been playing for his team rather than Accrington, for instance, Morecambe would have won. So what would be the key lucky breaks or otherwise today? By what small margins would victory or defeat be decided?
Crawley’s recent form has been fairly patchy, with three wins during February but also defeats against Forest Green Rovers and a bit of a tonking at leaders Luton, who beat them 4-1. Their previous record against the Lancashire club was also slightly inferior, with two wins and two draws against three defeats.
The game started with the Reds of Crawley looking the brighter of the two sides in the opening minutes. Enzio Blodewijn had the first effort on goal but his weak attempt after four minutes was easily handled by visiting goalkeeper Barry Roche. Impressive Plymouth loanee Glenn Wylde had the first effort for the Shrimps five minutes later, cutting in from the right and unleashing a tremendous shot which namesake Morris in the home goal was obliged to push away for a corner. Kevin Ellison then cheekily tried to lob Town’s goalkeeper – who he had spotted way off his line – after about a quarter of an hour but his audacious volley from about 40 yards out was not quite on target.
The nearest thing to a goal so far, however, arrived after 28 minutes when the dangerous-looking Lewis Young was allowed to maraud down the Crawley right and float over a cross which Sam Lavelle did brilliantly to acrobatically clear off the Morecambe goal line with his own goalkeeper all at sea. Blodewijn tried his luck again four minutes later but his powerful shot flew way over the bar and just a minute later, another excellent cross from Young was only just too high for Captain Jimmy Smith to connect with in front of goal. Down the other end, there was a shout for a penalty a few minutes later when Kevin Ellison might have been fouled in Town’s box but Referee Brendan Malone was unmoved. That was about it. Both sides constantly gave the ball away and there was little quality from either team and even less goalmouth action. So the half fizzled out with the match scoreless and neither side really dominating the play for significant periods.
Wylde had the first attempt of the second period after just two minutes but his shot from outside the penalty area missed the target. Big Bazza redeemed himself after some uncertainty dealing with crosses during the first 45 minutes by getting two hands to a fierce shot by Smith from a long way out with 48 minutes played. He did even better to keep out Young’s thunderbolt from fifteen yards with 66 minutes on the clock and Lavelle was in the way of another tremendous strike by Karlan Ahearne-Grant eight minutes later.
The best chance of the entire game so far, however, fell to the visitors. With just four minutes still scheduled to play, Andy Fleming unleashed a fantastic shot which crashed against the Town bar, bounced off and hit Gregg Morris on the back before bouncing away to be netted by a Shrimps’ player who was now offside. However, any suspicions that Lady Luck was with Crawley today were dispelled when Callum Lang scored a tremendous goal for the Morecambe Reds, taking the ball coolly round the home goalkeeper and slotting it into the back of the net. This happened in injury time right at the end of the game. But to Jim Bentley’s inexpressible frustration, Town saved the day for themselves when Aherne-Grant was allowed to sneak in at the back post and bundle home Dannie Bulman’s cross just a minute later. Was this luck or was it poor concentration right at the death? Whatever is the truth, a draw was probably a fair result in a game of generally very poor quality.
Elsewhere, Grimsby – seemingly in free-fall according to Shaun Bennett’s heartfelt articles on this site – managed to also draw at home against fellow strugglers Port Vale today. Crewe fought back from 2-0 down at Stevenage to finally redeem a point. Barnet lost again and Chesterfield were beaten at home once more, this time after leading for much of the game against Lincoln. Forest Green also lost at home so although Morecambe found themselves in the same position at the end of the day as they had been at the start of it, they did better than the majority of their nearest rivals. At the top of League Two, Accrington Stanley won at previous leaders Luton to pinch top spot from them. Who scored the winning goal? The aforementioned Billy Kee did. Jim Bentley can only fantasise about signing players of his undoubted quality, but he will probably be relieved that his own squad didn’t lose as well today – whether luck, small margins or something else entirely had anything to do with it…
Crawley: 1 Glenn Morris; 2 Lewis Young; 3 Josh Doherty; 4 Josh Payne (Y) (5 Joe McNerney 84 mins); 6 Mark Connolly (Y); 7 Enzio Blodewijn; 8 Jimmy Smith (C); 9 Karlan Ahearne-Grant; 15 Josh Yorwerth (Y); 21 Dannie Bulman; 25 Mark Randall (28 Panutche Camara 63 mins).
Subs not used: 12 Yusuf Mersin; 22 Josh Lelan; 17 Aliu Djalo; 20 Aryan Tajbakhsh; 27 Moussa Sanoh.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 6 Dean Winnard; 2 Aaron McGowan; 16 Sam Lavelle (Y); 15 Aaron Wildig (29 Callum Lang (Y) 64 mins); 24 Michael Rose (C); 8 Andy Fleming; 28 Adam McGurk; 14 Luke Conlan; 21 Gregg Wylde (7 Garry Thompson 64 mins); 11 Kevin Ellison (10 Adam Campbell 77 mins).
Subs not used: 12 Danijel Nizic; 4 Alex Kenyon; 17 Mitchell Lund; 9 Vadaine Oliver.
Ref: Brendan Malone.
Att: 1,642
Crawley Town 2:0 Morecambe. Npower League Two. Saturday 15th September 2018.
Crawley Creepy Upwards.
Morecambe visited the Broadfield Stadium today desperately trying to generate at least one point to add to their pathetically poor harvest of three altogether from the seven games they have played so far in League Two. The omens for them to do so were pretty even – of eight games played against Crawley in the past, they have lost three and won three (although one of these included thrashing the rather less than charming Steve Evans’ division-leading side 6-0 during 2011.) In the EFL, Morecambe have never been beaten at the Broadfield.
On form, however, there would only be one winner today: although Town are only fifteenth in the division, they were the first team to win at Fortress Sincil Bank against top-of-the-table Lincoln last time out. For the superstitious among us looking for omens, the Referee for today’s game was a bad one. Alan Young had never officiated in a match involving Crawley before. He’s been involved in a Shrimps’ contest once before though since being promoted from the National League last season: this was Morecambe’s demolition by Crewe 6-0 in the opening game of this season. Furthermore, if Crawley’s squad had any extra reason to impress, today was the day. Last Saturday, the Reds were managed by caretakers Jimmy Smith and Filipe Morais as their new Coach sat in the stands. Today, however, was the debut of Gabriele Cioffi; a 42-year old with limited previous managerial experience in the third tier of Italian football. So all his players would have an added incentive to put in a shift today to catch the eye of the new boss.
Both teams started quite brightly on a dry but sometimes overcast day in West Sussex. Although the home team probably shaded things early doors, both sides played some positive, attacking football in the opening period of the game. Panutche Camarà cleverly created a chance for himself after six minutes, working his way expertly into the Shrimps’ penalty area before unleashing a shot which took a slight deflection for a corner. From this, the ball ended-up at the same player’s feet again but his attempted shot was way over the bar. At the other end, Kevin Ellison also just missed a few moments later and Liam Mandeville did well to get into the Town box and put in a cross which was also cleared for a corner after eleven minutes. Five minutes later, Joe Piggott beat the Crawley off-side trap but a tremendous covering tackle from Mark Connolly managed to block his attempted cross. Crawley had the next chance after 21 minutes as Filipe Morais swept a shot wide after being set-up by Ollie Palmer on the edge of the Morecambe box. Five minutes later, Andy Fleming forced the first actual save from Glenn Morris in the home goal and the home goalkeeper was forced into another fairly easy stop during injury time from Piggott’s header. But the first half ended goal-less and probably just about deservedly so.
It was the Same Old Story for Morecambe in the second period though. Just seven minutes had been played when Ashley Nathaniel-George was given the freedom of midfield to run almost the length of the pitch before sweeping the ball low and powerfully under Barry Roche’s doomed attempt to keep it out. Where were his defenders? They were probably still at sixes and sevens as Camarà put the Reds even further ahead just three minutes after they had scored their first when he worked a position in the centre of the Morecambe box, managed to round Big Baz and slot the ball home. His new Manager was so excited by this strike that he ran onto the field to celebrate with his players – and was promptly booked for doing so. The Shrimps didn’t give up after their second setback though and Morris pulled-off a fantastic save from Mandeville’s free-kick after seventy-five minutes. But the final result was oh-so-familiar for Shrimps’ fans this season: no clean sheet and no goals scored either.
Nobody can pretend that seven defeats in eight league games isn’t anything less than a crisis. Yet Morecambe still manage to escape the jaws of death due to the even worse form of Macclesfield and Notts County. So what’s going to happen? With Grimsby not exactly setting the world on fire either, it is already looking as if it’s two of these four who are a dead cert for relegation next May. But there’s a long way to go and anything can happen in that time. Jim Bentley must be praying that he is given the chance to turn things around yet again at the Globe Arena despite increasingly strident calls for him to be sacked. My personal view – for what it’s worth – is who will do any better? All is not lost so early in the season and Morecambe are far from a basket case. But things obviously have to improve and improve quickly if the Shrimps are not going to find themselves even deeper in the mire at the bottom of the EFL. As far as their opponents today are concerned, Town found the three points they deservedly won propelling them into tenth position in League Two.
Crawley Town: 1 Glenn Morris; 14 George Francomb (10 Dominic Poleon 62 mins); 33 Bondz N’Gala; 6 Mark Connolly (Y); 16 Joe Maguire; 2 Lewis Young; 22 Filipe Morais; 21 Dannie Bulman (Y) (4 Josh Payne 76 mins); 15 Ashley Nathaniel-George (3 Josh Doherty 84 mins); 28 Panutche Camarà (Y); 9 Ollie Palmer.
Subs not used: 12 Yusuf Mersin; 5 Joe McNerney; 11 Luke Gambin.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche (C); 2 Zak Mills; 27 Jordan Cranston (Y); 5 Steven Old; 14 Josef Yarney (Y); 15 Aaron Wildig; 8 Andy Fleming; 14 Liam Mandeville; 28 A-Jay Leitch-Smith; 11 Kevin Ellison (19 Carlos Mendes-Gomes 81 mins); 24 Joe Piggott (Y) (9 Vadaine Oliver 60 mins).
Subs not used: 13 Dawid Szczepaniak; 25 Ben Hedley; 18 Rhys Oates; 16 Sam Lavelle; 12 Jason Oswell.
Ref: Alan Young.
1895 (89 stalwarts from Morecambe)
Morecambe 1:0 Crawley Town. Npower League Two. Saturday 30th March 2019.
Mandeville Magic At Morecambe.
Crawley Town made the long journey from West Sussex to the Globe Arena today to face Morecambe in a game which could have a pivotal bearing on the final standings in League Two with only seven games still scheduled to play. The visitors arrived in eighteenth position: their hosts were just one place and a single point behind them. Town, however, had won only one game in their last nine: the Shrimps have won four out of their last ten.
Crawley Manager – sorry – `Head Coach’ Gabriele (Gaby) Cioffi – took over when Harry Kewell was prised away from the club for a short and ill-fated stay at Notts County at the end of August last year. He showed severe frustration when interviewed yesterday and is clearly irked by some of his own players’ attitudes as far as his team’s poor form is concerned. Regulars Jimmy Smith (injured knee); Josh Doherty (hip) and Luke Gambin (thigh) were all missing today along with suspended Ibrahim Meite and One Other.
It’s probably never a good idea to publicly criticise your own men but the Italian slated the ankle injury keeping perhaps the club’s outstanding performer Josh Payne out of the clash against Morecambe as `silly’. Before the match, he reeled-off a succession of similar `silly’ injuries and made his displeasure about them all too obvious. Concerning the midfielder who was in the starting lineup against the Shrimps, he said:
“We lost Filipe Morais for eight games for surgery on his finger. This is the first time I have heard of this in football – he is not a Rugby player.”
Oh dear – trouble at t’Broadmill. Ok: Broadfield. All right: trouble at The People’s Pension Stadium, then. (Really trips off the tongue, doesn’t it?)
In terms of previous games, history was statistically absolutely identical: three games won, lost and drawn by both teams in League Two. Crawley, though, had been victorious in both previous contests in Lancashire and beat Jim Bentley’s team last September at home as well. But the really bad part of the Curate’s Egg as far as Town are concerned also happened at the Globe Arena where a team managed by Charm School Drop-Out Steve Evans lost 6-0 during 2011 at a time when Town were top of the League: this remains their record defeat ever in the EFL.
Morecambe were hopeless last time out at Swindon last Saturday, where they were soundly beaten 4-0. They weren’t much better the week before, when they played poorly against seemingly doomed and even more hopeless Notts County at Meadow Lane. But their last two home games – where they won with really positive performances against strong teams – augured well. So which Shrimps team would turn-up today: the negative and tentative one which capitulated at Swindon last week? Or the dynamic one that played on the front foot and convincingly beat Forest Green and the AFC Wimbledon impersonators earlier in the month?
For whatever reason, the away end was opened-up to home supporters today and this doubtlessly created a far better atmosphere than is usually the case at the Globe Arena.
It was sunny as the match kicked-off but the clag lying on the hills far away gradually crept ever further westwards and finally enveloped the ground and its surroundings in dullness. On the field, though, it was anything but dull. The visitors made it clear right from the off they were not interested in a draw and took every opportunity to play on the break: if they were not actually performing for their increasingly beleaguered Coach, there was absolutely no sign of it in the display they turned-in here. In Ollie Palmer, they had a big, lumbering centre forward in the old fashioned mould who caused the Shrimps’ defence problems all afternoon. I almost felt sorry for him – as our own Vadaine Oliver has been in the past – he was always a handful in the air and held the ball up well but had nobody to help him out as he ploughed a lone furrow up-front a lot of the time. Their number seven, Reece Greco-Cox, could clearly play a bit too and Lewis Young (Ashley’s brother) at left back impressed with his attacking prowess particularly during the second half. Out on their left wing, the contest between Ash Nathaniel-George and Zak Mills was the highlight of the half for me. Young Ash obviously has oodles of talent but Zak had him in his pocket nine times out of ten. After 20 minutes, indeed, the visiting winger showed his frustration by signalling to his team-mates to provide him with some options – and in that moment, Mills was in again. Ironically, though, it was Nathaniel-George who forced the first save of the game from returning Morecambe custodian Barry Roche. This was after 22 minutes and Big Baz did well to get down low to save a shot from the centre of his penalty area. Crawley came even closer with half an hour played: big Palmer headed the ball up into the air and Greco-Cox – with his back to goal – produced a tremendous bicycle kick which bounced off the top of the crossbar on its way over. Up the other end, Richie Bennett held the ball up well after eight minutes and cleverly feinted one way and then the other before setting-up Aaron Wildig for a shot which went well over the bar. After a quarter of an hour, Baz hoofed the ball the length of the pitch to Aaron Collins who managed to get away from Joe McNerney only for Tom Dallison-Lisbon to make a last-ditch clearance for the visitors. Rhys Oates forced Glenn Morris into a save for Crawley almost at the death, making a trademark run down the Morecambe left and hammering the ball on target. But the last word fell to the visitors: Palmer made a brilliant turn which created space for himself and then let fly with a shot which the Shrimps’ defence deflected for a corner. So it was all-square at half time, with the visitors shading it so far at least in terms of possession.
The second half was a scrappier affair. I thought that the visitors again shaded the play early doors and feared what might have happened had they brought their shooting boots with them. Their approach play was faster and more accurate than their opponents’ and a lot of the game was played in the home half. The Shrimps huffed and puffed but their possession usually broke down as soon as they crossed the halfway line. Richie Sutton looked knackered to me long before he was taken-off and enthusiasm alone is not enough as far as young Oates is concerned. But Jim Bentley replaced them both around the hour mark and their replacements – notably Liam Mandeville – totally changed the nature of the game. For the first time, the home team looked like they might have some sort of a cutting edge. Mandy has the lot – apart from possibly commitment on occasions – and he showed it from the moment he was unleashed. Suddenly, there was real pressure on the right-hand side of Town’s defence as Liam danced through it but he also had the apparently effortless awareness to link his team-mates into the play. After eighty minutes, he forced a good save from Morris but just a minute later, the pivotal moment of this match arrived. Mills worked his way down the Morecambe right yet again and slung over a perfect cross which an unmarked Mandeville headed past a goalkeeper who had no chance at all of saving it. To be fair, the visitors didn’t give up after this mortal blow and Morecambe’s Game Management – as I believe we have to call it these days – was poor at times. Late substitute Kevin Ellison (who, with Dannie Bulman on the other side, made it two over-40s on the field today) had a golden opportunity to double Morecambe’s lead in injury time but – with better options on both sides of him – contrived to miss the target altogether.
At the end of the day, however, it didn’t matter: his team already had all the points. At this stage of the season, that’s all that really matters.
Elsewhere today, next Saturday’s opponents Macclesfield pulled-off a very commendable draw at League Two leaders Lincoln. Cambridge and seriously troubled Yeovil both lost at home. Port
Vale won away from home to ease their relegation worries but – astonishingly – Notts County showed that there is still life in the old dog with an extraordinary 0-3 victory away at Stevenage. Morecambe found themselves nine points clear of the Drop Zone tonight, having swapped places with their visitors in order to end the day in eighteenth position in League Two.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 2 Zak Mills; 3 Luke Conlan: 4 Alex Kenyon; (8 Andy Fleming 62 mins); 5 Steven Old; 16 Sam Lavelle; 15 Aaron Wildig; 7 Richie Bennett (11 (Kevin Ellison 75 mins); 18 Rhys Oates (17 Liam Mandeville 62 mins); 31 Aaron Collins; 26 Piero Mingoia.
Subs not used: 21 Mark Halstead; 23 Tyler Brownsword; 27 Jordan Cranston; 24 Paul McKay.
Crawley Town: 1 Glenn Morris; 2 Lewis Young; 5 Joe McNerney (Y); 22 Filipe Morais (13 Ricardo German 83 mins); 16 Joe Maguire; 17 Tom Dallison-Lisbon; 21 Dannie Bulman; 15 Ashley Nathaniel-George (18 David Sesay 64 mins); 7 Reece Grego-Cox; 28 Panutche Camarà (14 George Francomb 72 mins); 9 Ollie Palmer.
Subs not used: 12 Yusuf Mersin; 10 Dominic Poleon; 33 Bondz N’Gala.
Ref: The excellent Eddie Ilderton.
2445 (47 from Crawley, whose Twitter feed added: “Nathan Rooney’s family are sat in the home end so we’re claiming 51”.)
Crawley 1:1 Morecambe. Npower League Two. Saturday 16th November 2019.
Crawley Held by Resilient Shrimps
Morecambe travelled all the way to West Sussex and the snappily-entitled People’s Pension Stadium today to take-on Gabriele Cioffi’s Crawley Town. Crawley were seventeenth in League Two prior to kick-off and on the back of three defeats; one draw and one win in their last five league games: their solitary victory being five matches ago. They would be encouraged, however, by their 4-1 win over struggling Scunthorpe last Saturday in the FA Cup. At the same time, bottom of the table Morecambe were losing by the same score at Bloomfield Road against Blackpool. They had been under the temporary care of Barry Roche and Kevin Ellison for that game, as they had been when winning their last league outing against Leyton Orient, whose manager was sacked after humiliation in their next match against non-league Maldon & Tiptree in the FA Cup last weekend. The Shrimps had lost all three of their previous league games before the Orient victory, winning the one before that.
Today, however, Derek Adams was in charge of the Shrimps for a league match for the very first time. He took over on the back of a victory in his initial game as the boss – against Carlisle United in the FA Trophy last Tuesday where the Shrimps won 3-1 from a losing position at half time. Meetings with Morecambe could be seen as something as an omen currently because Steven Pressley was also sacked as United Manager after this game. So Crawley’s current boss would be sitting uncomfortably today if his team were unable to overcome the team right at the bottom of the EFL. This was the two clubs’ eleventh meeting in League Two. In previous contests, Morecambe had won four; Crawley three and the other three were obviously drawn.
The new Shrimps’ Manager made two changes to the team which lined-up against Carlisle during mid-week and Blackpool last Saturday. Ritchie Sutton started in defence and Alex Kenyon in midfield at the expense of John O’Sullivan and Andrew Tutte, both of whom were relegated to the bench.
It had been wet at times although sporadically sunny in Crawley before the game. Both teams had corners during the first five minutes but the visitors took the first two strikes on goal. Cole Stockton set-up George Tanner for a shot which Glenn Morris did well to save low down first of all and then Aaron Wildig missed when he should have hit the target after being played-in by Lewis Allesandra with six minutes played. Wildig then set-up Stockton for an even better chance with a clever header but the big striker – one-on-one with Morris in the home goal – missed with a shot which may have just shaved the post. Bez Lubala was upended by Tanner after quarter of an hour. He got up to draw a good save from Mark Halstead from the resulting free-kick at the expense of a corner. Eighteen minutes were on the clock when Ashley Nadesan’s header from Nathan Ferguson’s cross following a corner missed the target. Then Ferguson himself missed with a shot following another cross by Lubala after 21 minutes. It was quite scrappy after that despite Lubala’s efforts down one wing and Reece Grego-Cox for the hosts on the other but the match seemed to be stumbling towards a goal-less draw at half time. However, when David Sesay’s surge into the Morecambe penalty area was brought to an end by Tom Brewitt’s challenge in the forty-third minute, Referee Antony Coggins pointed to the spot and Lubala then coolly slotted the ball home. To put Town into the lead.
The visitors had the first half-chance of the second period when Sutton narrowly missed with a header from a corner after 49 minutes. Three minutes later, Panutche Camara also missed at the other end with a shot from inside the penalty area. Town had a few more half-chances after that but rarely troubled the visiting goalkeeper and never tested him seriously. With just over ten minutes left, Derek Adams showed his intention to play more offensively when he withdrew central defender Steven Old and replaced him with forward John O’Sullivan. The change had an almost immediate effect: in the eighty-first minute, Cole Stockton got in front of his marker and smartly headed Brewitt’s cross home at the near post to equalise for the Lancashire club.
It turned-out to be a crucial strike as the game ended in a one-all draw. Derek Adams must have been delighted with the way his new team never let their heads drop and defended effectively in a novel 3-5-2 formation for them. Stevenage were unable to play today and so the well-earned point pushed Morecambe out of the trap-door position into the National League at their expense. As far as Crawley are concerned, the single point pushed them one place up the table to sixteenth position.
Crawley Town: 1 Glenn Morris; 2 Lewis Young; 19 Jordan Tunnicliffe; 6 Tom Dallison-Lisbon; 18 David Sesay; 21 Dannie Bulman (C); 7 Reece Grego-Cox; 28 Panutche Camara; 12 Nathan Ferguson (16 Mason Enigboken- Bloomfield 83’); 30 Beryly (Bez) Lubala (15 Ashley Nathaniel-George 61’); 10 Ashley Nadesan (9 Ollie Palmer 69’).
Subs not used: 35 Ngemba Luyambula; 20 Jamie Sendles-White; 14 George Francomb; 26 Brian Galach.
Morecambe: 21 Mark Halstead; 16 Sam Lavelle(C); 12 Ritchie Sutton; 5 Steven Old (7 John O’Sullivan 78’) ; 3 Luke Conlan (Y); 4 Alex Kenyon; 15 Aaron Wildig (10 A-Jay Leitch-Smith 63’); 27 George Tanner; 14 Tom Brewitt; 8 Lewis Alessandra; 9 Cole Stockton (Y).
Subs not used: 1 Barry Roche; 6 Andrew Tutte; 24 Shaun Miller; 11 Kevin Ellison.
Ref: Antony Coggins.
2079 (98)
