Cold Turkey: A Walk Down Memory Lane
Oh My Gawd – no football for at least three weeks. Who are we to believe? Private Frazer: “We’re all Doomed, Captain Mainwearing, Doomed I say!”? Or Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser? As recently as last Friday, he said that banning all football matches in Britain for the foreseeable future was `eye-catching’ but not necessarily effective in delaying the spread of the Corona Virus.
Last night, I went with my partner Annie and her eight-year-old niece to watch `Sarah & Duck’ at the Duke’s Playhouse in Lancaster. There, we and several hundred other people sat tightly packed together in a warm enclosed space in a situation where whatever bugs were present had an ideal opportunity to colonise new victims. But the performance still went ahead. National League games are all going ahead later today as well. Some of these will attract far bigger crowds than would have rolled-up to the Globe Arena this afternoon. Why have these not been banned as well? So even if the science is correct – and the head of the country’s public health system suggests it isn’t – where’s the consistency? It makes no sense at all to me at least.
But enough controversy… Here’s my attempt to try and reduce the effects of Colt Turkey which football fans across the nation will already be starting to suffer from. Here’s a collection of reports of some of the games I have covered which have involved the two teams who should have met at the Globe Arena today: Morecambe and Plymouth Argyle. This is not all the meetings they have had, but it is a selection of them which reminds us of times when Morecambe Play-Off hero Craig Stanley visited the Globe Arena with a green shirt on his back, for instance. Or when Ryan Edwards still played for the Lancashire rather than the team from Devon. When current Shrimps’ player Jordan Slew was sent-off for the Pilgrims after feigning a foul by Morecambe legend Barry Roche. Or when current Shrimps Manager Derek Adams was the boss of the opposition, for example. It also marks times when the term Covid-19 virus would have meant nothing more than a barely understood concept from some dystopian sci-fi novel …
Morecambe 2:2 Plymouth Argyle. Npower League Two, Saturday 28th April 2012.
Big Baz’s Blunder gives Morecambe’s game away.
People say that end of season games where neither team have anything to play for are boring affairs. But today’s threw up a number of pre-match questions. The first was simply – what IS an Argyle? Secondly – why wasn’t the Pilgrims’ number three playing for Port Vale today? Thirdly: if the match became a bit feisty (which it did once or twice) could we blame the referee – with a name like his – for letting it boil over completely? And finally, if anyone gets the better of Jim Bentley’s long lost twin brother – who, spookily, also wears the same number five and Captain’s armband that Jimbo used to do in the Morecambe team – could it be truly said that they had him in their pocket?
That’s enough. Ok – end of season matches can be boring affairs and – particularly if you happen to be a Morecambe supporter – the first 45 minutes were shocking. Not for the first time recently, Danny Carlton was caught in possession right at the beginning of the match. The man responsible – Ashley Hemmings – fed the visitors’ impressive Luke Young who was able to run unchallenged through the Shrimps’ defence and unleash a fierce shot from about 25 yards out which beat Barry Roche low down to his left-hand side. Nil-One to Plymouth. The visitors – with a very strong wind straight from the Urals at their backs – then continued to play the better football throughout the half. They should have gone further ahead after 21 minutes when a cross slung in low from their right flank was completely missed by Izak Reid to fall to Ladjie Soujouna, who appeared to be so astonished to find the ball at his feet in the middle of the Morecambe goal that he completely messed up his golden opportunity to score. Five minutes later, Young’s brilliance on the right – when he left marker Gary McDonald for dead – led to another dangerous cross which a more ambitious team than the Pilgrims might have benefited from. With half an hour gone, Soujouna cleverly played-in massive striker Steve Fletcher, who also wasted a good chance by smacking the ball high over the Morecambe bar. He did better a quarter of an hour later, however, when he unleashed a powerful drive from about 40 yards out, forcing an agile save from Roche to his right. With 33 minutes on the clock, Alex MacDonald took a free-kick for the visitors from even further away and only just missed Roche’s right-hand post.
At the other end, there were the occasional flashes of talent from Reid as he danced his way up the right wing and Jack Redshaw showed that he, too, is potentially a box of tricks. Up front, Jordan Burrow got no change at all from a resolute Argyle defence; Craig Curran was largely anonymous and McDonald was unable to direct the game in any meaningful way from midfield. At the back, a niggly Will Haining failed to lead by example and the normally exceptionally reliable Chris McCready committed far too many fouls. All in all, this was a disjointed and lacklustre performance from the Shrimps and they were lucky to go in at half time only one goal in arrears.
Things must have been said during the interval, however, because the same eleven players who had performed so poorly during the first period suddenly started to play some neat, intelligent football. And as soon as they did, it was possible to see why Plymouth have struggled at times this season because they lost their shape right across the team and their discipline at the back gave way to panic stations on more than one occasion. Jordan Burrow signalled his intent after a torrid first half with a fierce shot within a minute of the restart which was not too far away. Just fifty minutes had gone when the same player equalised with an excellent downwards header from a superb cross by Garry Hunter, whose progress down the right wing had been exceptional. At the other end, Plymouth chances became fewer but a warning of calamity still to come arrived in the 58th minute, when Roche came for a cross and completely missed the ball. With just over an hour played, Redshaw was played-in by a long punt forwards but found Darren Purse not about to take any prisoners: the huge Centre Half simply booted the ball skywards for a corner and there was a suspicion that the diminutive Morecambe player might have gone with it if he wasn’t careful. Redshaw was badly fouled just a few minutes later, however, when Maxime Blanchard ended yet another impressive foray down the right wing: the Pilgrims’ defender was rightly booked for this. By this time, it was All Hands To The Plymouth Pump and another goal for the hosts seemed inevitable. It duly arrived after seventy minutes when substitute Lewis Allesandra received the ball at his feet on the left-hand edge of the Argyle penalty area and – seeing Ollie Chenoweth rapidly advancing towards him from the goal-line, brilliantly swerved the ball out of his reach into the net: he made a very difficult technique look almost laughably easy. Joe Mwasile entered the fray for the Shrimps straight after the goal and his first effort was immediate – trying and only just failing to lob the visiting goalkeeper from some distance. And so it went on, with Morecambe by far the better team. Until all their good work was undone in the eighty-second minute.
Barry Roche’s weakest suit has always been dealing with crosses, which he often does poorly particularly for a man of his sheer physical size. Today, he made a truly feeble attempt to punch a cross from his right away and before he had a chance to redeem himself, Captain Purse had headed the equaliser past him. Despite this, Morecambe continued to play progressive football and might have gone further ahead in the eighty-fifth minute when the quicksilver Allesandra weaved his way down the right and plonked a cross on Curran’s head which he steered against the bar. In the dying minutes, following more trickery from Redshaw, Morecambe had a string of three consecutive corners which the Pilgrims’ defence dealt with without any conviction at all: the third one resulted in Chenoweth’s left post being struck with the goalkeeper a helpless spectator.
So that was it – a point each. We all know who put a certain word in Scunthorpe but it has to be said that Plymouth supporters must know only too well who put the word `grim’ in Pilgrims: following this club in the last few years must have been an absolute nightmare. But fair play to Argyle’s fans: loads made the massively long journey to the Lancashire coast from Devon today and they supported their team with real gusto. Good luck to them. And even better luck to Morecambe for next season.
(* Ok – so what IS an Argyle? I’ve done some painstaking research and finally discovered from that infallible fount of all knowledge – Twitipaedia -that it’s slightly bigger than a Queuegyle but not quite as large as an Essgyle. Oh – and (far less usefully) – that it’s also some sort of knitted diamond pattern on a jumper or sock. So now we all know…)
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 7 Izak Reid; 6 Will Haining (C); 15 Chris McCready (Y); 22 Andy Parrish; 18 Gary McDonald; 8 Garry Hunter (Y); 12 Craig Curran; 27 Jack Redshaw; 30 Danny Carlton (9 Lewis Allesandra 60 mins); 14 Jordan Burrow (20 Joe Mwasile 71 mins).
Substitutes not used: 23 Chris Kettings; 24 Niall Cowperthwaite; 28 Joe McGee.
Plymouth Argyle: 3 Ollie Chenoweth; 2 Durrell Berry; 3 Robbie Williams; 5 Darren Purse (C); 10 Fletcher; 13 Ladjie Soujouna (Y); 15 Luke Young (Y) (21 Joe Lennox 82 mins); (Y); 31 Ashley Hemmings; 32 (Y) (29 Nick Chadwick 82 mins).
Substitutes not used: 14 Onismore Bhasera; 11 Warren Feeny.
Ref: Trevor Kettle.
Att: 2313.
Morecambe 2:3 Plymouth Argyle. Npower League Two, Saturday 22nd September 2012.
Pilgrims… Pill… Grim… Need more pills cos it was so grim…
Morecambe’s Manager Jim Bentley must wish that his team could play all their games away from their new stadium – the Shrimps lost in the league for the first time so far last Tuesday at Bradford but at home, they have now lost the last three of four, having managed only a draw so far against York City.
The Shrimps’ utterly dire home form continued today at the Globe Arena as they threw away a two-goal lead after an hour at a point when they seemed to be cruising towards their first home league win of the season. As if this was not bad enough, they visibly fell apart against a team which finally simply showed more determination to win the game when push came to shove than they were able to do themselves.
In front of a crowd of less than two thousand, entertainment during the first half was at a premium after the first three minutes. During this time, however, Morecambe took the lead. Jack Redshaw – playing the role of David to Darren Purse’s Goliath – brilliantly wriggled past a man perhaps twice his physical size on the Morecambe left, raced into the penalty area and found the back of the net with a shot which unerringly swerved past visiting custodian Jake Cole.
The rest of the half was a largely forgettable affair with few chances. Neither side seemed able to string more than three or four passes together successfully without the move breaking down and – with the notable exception of Redshaw – nobody really caught the eye.
The key moment of the half – and arguably the match – occurred right at the end of the period when that beacon of hope was nullified.
The Plymouth Captain – having already fouled Morecambe’s scorer more than once (most notably after twenty-seven minutes when he should have been booked) finally got in a truly bone-crunching tackle right at the death for which many referees would have shown him a straight red card. He retreated to the middle of the pitch with a yellow. Redshaw was helped to limp to the sidelines.
Unsurprisingly, he failed to re-appear for the second half.
His replacement – bustling loanee centre forward Richard Brodie – made an impact almost immediately. He barged his way down Morecambe’s left flank with only a minute played and provided a dangerous cross which should have caused more problems than it did for the Plymouth rearguard. But – showing a determination and confidence throughout the half which few of his team-mates ever emulated – he forced his way between two Pilgrims defenders in their penalty area with three minutes gone only to be brought-down by one of them. Brodie took the resulting spot-kick himself and although Cole made a valiant effort to keep it out, the sheer ferocity of the shot nestled the ball into the net low down to the goalkeeper’s right.
At this point, the visitors’ heads seemed to collectively drop. But Plymouth had troubled Barry Roche in the home goal a couple of times during the first half: most notably when a fierce shot from Conor Hourihane hit his legs after a quarter of an hour and bounced harmlessly away. The Shrimps’ Irish goalkeeper excelled himself by pushing a rocket of a free-kick from Robbie Williams away for a corner by diving high to his right just before the Shrimps doubled their lead at the beginning of the second half. With an hour on the clock, however, there seemed to be no way back for the team from Devon: they looked well and truly beaten.
Morecambe took their foot off the gas as a result. This is often fatal in professional football and so it proved today. Having gradually worked their way back into the match as the Shrimps clearly thought it was already over, Plymouth’s new on-loan striker Ross Jenkins smashed an unstoppable volley from the left edge of the penalty area from his point of view past a despairing Roche into the top right-hand corner of the net after 71 minutes. It was a fantastic strike and it galvanised Plymouth to take control of the game. As Morecambe visibly panicked and – even more alarmingly – completely lost their discipline into the bargain, the visitors built up a head of steam which saw them both equalise and then take the lead from the penalty spot. The first infringement was given – perhaps a little harshly – for handball by Izak Reid after 78 minutes. The second – after which handbags were exchanged in an incident which did not reflect well on the home side – came about with just five minutes of real time left when Andy Parrish clearly brought-down substitute Paris Cowan Hall as the Shrimps’ back line was run ragged for the umpteenth time since Jenkins scored the visitors’ first goal.
From the home fans’ point of view, at least the sun shone throughout the contest. Eric Morecambe would have been delighted. This was a truly beautiful day for a football match and the view over the Lakeland hills across Morecambe Bay from the main stand was truly memorable.
Unlike the game – at least for local supporters.
For Plymouth fans, the long drive home surely would not seem quite so endless – to recover from two-nil down with only half an hour left to play and then win is a fantastic result in any circumstances. In today’s, it was a feat worthy of Lazarus. Pilgrims’ supporters must have felt that they were on Cloud Nine all the way back to the West Country – and good luck to them all.
For Morecambe fans and individuals in the team, to lose in such a way is not only disappointing – it is potentially completely demoralising. With all due respect, the Pilgrims are not a good side: their lack of confidence was obvious for all to see at the beginning of the game and the fact that Morecambe didn’t capitalise on this even more than they did is in itself more than a wee bit troubling.
Jim Bentley must motivate his charges to perform much better – and do so very quickly. On today’s showing, the only thing that will save Morecambe from the Bookies’ safe bet of a return to the Conference at the end of the season will be the apparently even worse form of rivals such as Barnet, Bristol Rovers or Dagenham and Redbridge.
The Shrimps carried too many passengers today. Andrew Wright was anonymous throughout the contest; Gary McDonald was untypically poor and the mercurial Kevin Ellison’s only contribution to the game was to earn a fairly typical yellow card for a completely pointless bit of petulance during the second half. The Red Mist seemed to spread to at least Will Haining who – as Captain – really should set a better example.
Against a stronger team, Morecambe might well have never have found themselves two goals to the good. To actually lose this advantage against a side that was clearly there for the taking really does start the alarm bells ringing: Morecambe’s performance today was nothing less than pathetic.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 2 Nick Fenton; 3 Robbie Threlfall; 6 Will Haining (C); 7 Izak Reid (16 Stewart Drummond 83 mins); 8 Andrew Wright; 11 Kevin Ellison; 14 Jordan Burrow (9 Lewis Allesandra 83 mins); 18 Gary McDonald; 22 Andy Parrish; 27 Jack Redshaw (10 Richard Brodie 45 mins.).
Substitutes not used: 25 Andreas Arestidou; 17 Andy Fleming; 20 Joe Mwasile; 23 Chris Doyle.
Plymouth Argyle: 1 Jake Cole; 2 Durrell Berry (Y); 3 Robbie Williams; 4 Maxime Blanchard; 5 Darren Purse (C) (Y); 6 Conor Hourihane; 11 Warren Feeney (Y); 18 Guy Madjo; 27 Andres Gurreiri (7 Paris Cowan Hall 61 mins); 30 Ross Jenkins (Y); 32 Alex MacDonald.
Substitutes not used: 13 Ollie Chenoweth; 17 Curtis Nelson; 23 Jamie Richards; 8 Luke Young; 19 Joe Lennox; 21 Matt Lecointe.
Ref: Tony Harrington.
Att: 1965.
Morecambe 0:2 Plymouth Argyle. EFL League Two Good Friday 25th March 2016.
Ten-Men Morecambe Lose Again
Morecambe faced Plymouth Argyle at the Globe on Good Friday having already lost to them last October and with a poor record against the Devon team. Whoever arranged a fixture between a club at the other end of England on a Bank Holiday weekend needs their head examined and it was no surprise that the appalling traffic between the West Country and north Lancashire meant that the match had to be delayed for half an hour so that Pilgrims’ fans could see it. Not that the long journey seemed to have a negative impact on the visiting footballers though. Facing reserve goalkeeper Keiran O’Hara following Barry Roche’s sending-off at Orient last week, Argyle could have won the game in the first ten minutes when a combination of good goalkeeping and poor finishing by Jamille Matte in particular kept the game goalless despite three excellent chances. But Plymouth were not to be denied for long. On just fourteen minutes, Reuben Reid set-up Jordan Houghton for a shot from outside the penalty area which beat O’Hara low down to his right. Although the Pilgrims continued to be the better, more threatening side, they didn’t have things all their own way until what was arguably the decisive action of the game arrived just before half time. Alex Kenyon made a sliding tackle on Carl McHugh and seemed to win the ball. The Plymouth players surrounded referee David Webb, however and clearly persuaded him that the challenge was reckless and merited a straight red card. Mr Webb duly obliged.
Against ten men, the visitors soon drew even further ahead: within two minutes of the re-start, Jake Jervis slung over a cross and Matte made up for his earlier misses by volleying the ball into the top corner of the net. From that time on, with Kevin Ellison and new loanee Blackpool midfielder Connor Oliver on as substitutes, the Shrimps played better than they had at any time during the first half. They also gave a first start to Cole Stockton, the forward they signed for a month initially from Tranmere a week ago. But although Ellison had a shot which was pushed onto the bar by controversial Pilgrims’ goalkeeper Luke McCormick, the Shrimps couldn’t make the breakthrough needed to prevent the visitors going home with maximum points against them this season.
The loss left Morecambe in eighteenth position in League Two. The win meant that Derek Adams’ promotion-chasing team remain in third position in the table.
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Morecambe 2:1 Plymouth Argyle. EFL League Two; 26th November 2016
Aar – Guile!
Morecambe faced top of the League Two table Plymouth Argyle on Saturday on the crest of a slump. From being right at the pinnacle of the table at the beginning of the season, the Shrimps had slumped to only two places above the relegation spots before the game. In doing so, they had set an unwanted record of seven straight defeats at home in the league. Throughout this time, however, manager Jim Bentley has constantly insisted that everyone associated with the club must pull together; that his is a young and inexperienced team and that all that was needed to transform the fortunes of his team was patience, luck and a little bit of guile on the field.
Morecambe have quite a poor record against the Pilgrims, having lost five of the eleven previous contests and winning only three. In sharp contrast to Morecambe, moreover, Derek Adams’ team had been on a fine run of form until a surprising blip in their last two home games, both of which they have lost at Home Park. So would the game end in another record defeat for the hosts? Or would the Pilgrims slip-up for the third time in a row?
Morecambe had the first chance in the opening minute of the game, when Cole Stockton’s decent attempt was well held by Jake McCormick in the visitors’ goal. But the Pilgrims also looked lively going forward and McCormick’s opposite number Barry Roche made a save up in the top corner after a quarter of an hour. After this, however, there was a spell of concerted Morecambe pressure, with no less than five corners being conceded by the visitors within the space of five minutes during which Aaron Wildig drew a tremendous save from McCormick who managed to stretch into his top corner to push away a clever and accurate lob. The home team’s pressure finally told though and Gary Miller fouled Dean Winnard in his own penalty area after twenty minutes. Referee Darren England duly pointed to the spot from which Michael Rose made no mistake to put the Shrimps into the lead. In an incident which would have ramifications later on, Jordan Slew was then booked for a foul on Rose with twenty-five minutes on the clock. Three minutes later, Rhys Turner’s tremendous volley from Peter Murphy’s cross smashed against the crossbar. Towards the end of the half, however, the Pilgrims started to play themselves back into the game and it was no surprise when Ozzie Threlkeld popped-up unmarked on the left side of the six-yard box to head past a Morecambe goalkeeper who apparently admitted to his team-mates at half time he should have dealt with.
So the second half started all-square but the pivotal moment of the contest arrived in the second minute following the restart when the referee adjudged Slew to have dived in the Morecambe penalty area following a challenge from Roche. Mr England thus produced a second yellow card and sent the Pilgrim’s number eight from the field for an early bath. Against ten men, the Shrimps began to take over. First of all, Kevin Ellison hit a post with a fierce shot after 57 minutes and then Ryan Edwards came close with a header after an hour. The goal which seemed inevitable eventually arrived after 63 minutes when which Rose took a corner kick from which Peter Murphy headed the ball powerfully past the Pilgrims’ keeper. It could have got even worse for the visitors virtually straight from the re-start when Wildig hit the woodwork with a header when it seemed easier to put the ball in the net. Morecambe continued to press after this, with Stockton in particular prominent and even having a goal rightfully disallowed but right at the death, Roche atoned for his earlier aberration with a fine save from a Jake Jervis free-kick which actually went under the jumping Morecambe wall.
So it ended with a welcome and much-needed win for the Shrimps which pushed them back up into seventeenth place. Plymouth’s third defeat in a week saw them fall off the top perch – albeit only on goal-difference – to be replaced by Carlisle United.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 2 Liam Wakefield (Y); 5 Ryan Edwards; 6 Dean Winnard; (Y); 8 Peter Murphy (C); 24 Michael Rose; 21 James Jennings; 18 Rhys Turner (19 Ntumba Massanka 84 mins); 15 Aaron Wildig (7 Paul Mullin 82 mins); 11 Kevin Ellison (Y) (3 Aaron McGowan 94 mins); 23 Cole Stockton.
Subs not used: 12 Danijel Nizic; 14 Luke Conlan; 10 Lee Molyneux; 27 Luke Jordan.
Plymouth Argyle: 23 Jake McCormick; 2 Gary Miller; 5 Nauris Bulvitis (19 Karleigh Osborne 75 mins); 15 Sonny Bradley; 18 Oscar Threlkeld; 4 Yann Songo’o; 14 Jake Jervis (Craig Tanner 88 mins); 10 Gordon Carey (Paul Garita 72 mins); 6 Connor Smith; 11 Ryan Donaldson (Y); 8 Jordan Slew (R).
Subs not used: 7 Goodwillie; 20 Rooney; 21 Dorel; 24 Fox.
Ref: Darren England
1435
Plymouth Argyle 1:0 Morecambe. EFL League Two; Saturday 18th March 2017.
No place like Home for Pilgrims.
Morecambe have a reasonably decent record against Plymouth Argyle and won the reverse fixture 2-1 at the Globe last November. Argyle’s recent record has been inconsistent to say the least: to put a new twist on the expression `no place like Home’, they lost their last game against Blackpool in Devon 0-3 and also lost at the same venue last month 0-1 to then struggling Notts County and – even more surprisingly – to seemingly doomed Leyton Orient, this time 2-3. But the League Two table doesn’t lie and the fact that they were in second position prior to kick-off on Saturday indicates that the Pilgrims can be a formidable proposition on their day.
Argyle had the first chance of the game early on when David Fox found Graham Carey who crossed for Jake Jervis to draw an excellent save from Barry Roche at the cost of a corner. With thirteen minutes on the clock, Carey tried his luck from a free-kick which just missed the target. Just four minutes later though, the same player tried again from open play to open the scoring with a tremendous strike from 20 yards which swerved over Roche into the top corner of the net. With ex-Pilgrim Lee Molyneux providing one of very few half-chances for the Lancashire team which was blocked by Jakub Sokolic, Plymouth continued to dominate the opening stages and Carey seemed to have the run of Home Park as the visiting defence failed to really get to grips with him. In fact, it took almost half an hour for the Shrimps to get away their only actual shot on goal of the half, when Molyneux chose to shoot and miss when Paul Mullin appeared to be in a better position to chance his arm. The half ended with the hosts one-nil to the good but hopes that the visitors might turn things around later on emerged as Morecambe began to play higher up the field and actually briefly bossed the play during the closing moments.
The visitors continued to take the game to Argyle in the opening phases of the second half. Mullin had the first effort with a shot within a minute of the re-start and Molyneux’s attempt when he mis-controlled the ball after fifty minutes went quite wildly over the bar. The nearest the Shrimps came to equalising, however, arrived after about 65 minutes when Michael Rose’s brilliant free-kick drew an equally brilliant save for Luke McCormick. Although the action went from end to end throughout, Morecambe probably shaded the second period although Barry Roche had to come to their rescue a couple of times as the Pilgrims hit them on the break.
But goals and not possession are what wins the points and at the end of the game, Derek Adams’ team took another three to consolidate their position right at the apex of the division breathing down leader’s Doncaster Rovers’ neck. This was a far better display from Morecambe – despite it being their fourth defeat on the spin – than their anaemic performances against both Yeovil and Newport during the last week at the seaside. The latest reverse sees them remain in fifteenth position in League Two with a twelve-point cushion over second bottom club Newport. But if they continue to play like they did today, they should be safe at the end of the season. Next Tuesday’s derby against Accrington Stanley – their bogey-team who are unbeaten in eight games after a draw at Yeovil today which put them just one point and one position behind the Shrimps with a game in hand – thus takes on an even greater significance than usual.
Plymouth Argyle: 23 Luke McCormick (C); 2 Gary Miller; 7 Antoni Sarcevic (4 Yann Songo’o 80 mins); 9 Jimmy Spencer (16 Ryan Taylor 62 mins); 10 Graham Carey; 14 Jake Jervis; 15 Sonny Bradley; 16 Matty Kennedy (Y) (8 Jordan Slew 67 mins); 18 Oscar Threlkeld; 24 David Fox; 31 Jakub Sokolik.
Subs not used: 21 Vincent Dorel; 3 Gary Sawyer; 11 Ryan Donaldson; 13 Nathan Blisset.
Morecambe: 1 Barry Roche; 5 Ryan Edwards; 16 Alex Whitmore (Y); 19 Michael Duckworth; 18 Rhys Turner (27 Luke Jordan 77 mins); 8 Peter Murphy (C); 10 Lee Molyneux; 14 Luke Conlan; 15 Aaron Wildig (11 Kevin Ellison (Y) 70 mins); 24 Michael Rose; 7 Paul Mullin.
Subs not used: 12 Danijel Nizic; 3 Aaron McGowan; 2 Liam Wakefield; 17 Andy Fleming.
Ref: Dean Whitestone.
8785
Plymouth Argyle 3:0 Morecambe. EFL League Two; Saturday 14th December 2019.
No Progress Against the Pilgrims for Morecambe.
Morecambe made the long trip to Devon today to face their Manager’s former employers for only the second away game in which he has been in charge. Derek Adams was sacked by the Pilgrims just over six months ago and said – prior to today’s Home Park match:
“We’re coming off the back of a very good performance against Carlisle United, where we created a number of good goal-scoring opportunities. We’ve had a flu bug that’s gone through the first-team squad, which gives an opportunity to some of the players that have been on the subs’ bench or just outside the matchday squad. I’m delighted to have (goalkeeper) Andre De Silva Mendes training with the first team and also seeing the good progress of Carlos Mendes Gomes in first-team training and reserve matches, which bodes well for the youngsters in our youth system.”
As far as his old club was concerned, he said:
“I’m looking forward to this weekend. We [Argyle] obviously did exceptionally well; when we got promoted out of League Two, we had a mid-table budget. In a very competitive league, to get out of the league in the way we did and the football we played was very exciting. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone; history is history and you can’t change that.”
The team he left behind – now under the guidance of ex-Bury Manager Ryan Lowe – was ninth in League Two before kick-off and on a run of three wins and two losses in their last five games. Both the Manager and midfielder Antoni Sarcevic have been nominated for EFL November awards as a result of their efforts for the team in recent times. In contrast, bottom of the EFL Morecambe had won only one of their last five games and lost two. Nobody from the Shrimps has been nominated for any EFL awards for last month either. In previous meetings, Plymouth had won six out of twelve and lost just three. Before the game, though, their new Manager had said the following about some of the men who will have been involved in this history in recent times:
“We’ve got options in January. The board will back me for what I need. We have a few players who need to move on. I don’t want to force anyone out, but we’ll see what happens.”
He won’t be the only one to be interested to see what happens. I’ve no doubt that Derek Adams will be just as interested in the future of players who would have played for him in the past. If finances allow, it would not be inconceivable to imagine that one or two of these individuals might be moving north to Lancashire in the New Year…
Aaron Wildig was one of the players missing for Morecambe because of illness and Andre Filipe Da Silva Mendes sat on the bench as the reserve goalkeeper for the second time. Barry Roche’s duties at the club have thus been restricted to those of goalkeeping coach only: he will be missed on the pitch after an outstanding career as a player for the Shrimps. Derek Adams wasn’t the only person from Lancashire returning to his former stomping ground: leading scorer Lewis Allesandra also faced a club for which he scored 25 goals in one hundred appearances. Both men received a warm welcome from their former supporters, which is a tribute to all concerned.
It was grey but dry as the match kicked-off in front of Argyle’s brand new Mayflower Grandstand – which will be officially opened next month. Here is a picture of the interior as it looked this morning:
The hosts went straight onto the front foot and – with Niall Canavan catching the eyes for the Pilgrims with his control in midfield – won a number of corners in the opening few minutes. Mark Halstead in the visitors’ goal was tested after seven minutes when he was equal to Antoni Sarcevic’s shot from a Joel Grant pass. Gary Sawyer missed with a header a minute later following another corner to the home team. After 15 minutes, Tafari Moore’s cross into the Morecambe area was hooked away only as far as Danny Mayor on the penalty spot and his half-volley bounced off the woodwork but harmlessly away for a goal kick.
The visitors were on the back foot but looking quite well organised whilst offering little going forward until half an hour had been played. Then, a short back-pass by Sarcevic forced Alex Palmer in the Argyle goal into rapid action to prevent a half-chance to the visitors. Shortly afterwards, Alex Kenyon played a clever pass to set-up A-Jay Leitch-Smith for a clear run on goal but the Shrimps’ forward took a wild swipe at the ball and missed it entirely. A key moment in the game arrived with just three minutes scheduled to play until half time. Dominic Telford got beyond the Morecambe defence in pursuit of a long ball and Ritchie Sutton pulled him back in a goal-scoring position just outside the penalty area. Referee Brett Huxtable had no option other than to brandish the red card and the Shrimps found themselves down to ten men for the second away game in a row. It got worse as George Cooper stepped-up to steer the resultant free-kick out of reach of Halstead into the top corner of the net to open his account for the Pilgrims. Worse still was to come. Before the break, Captain Kenyon brought-down Joel Grant to concede a penalty during injury time which Sarcevic converted to put the hosts into a more or less unassailable position at the break.
So it proved. The visitors defended manfully against constant pressure throughout the second half. The defensive wall deflected a Cooper free-kick narrowly wide after fifty minutes. Halstead made a good save from Josh Grant with 73 minutes played and namesake Conor headed the ball onto the top of the net when well placed shortly afterwards after coming on as a substitute. Following a corner, Steven Old deflected an effort from another substitute, Zak Rudden, against the post with seventy-seven minutes played. Conor Grant forced another save from Halstead after eighty minutes but could not be denied in injury time right at the end of the contest. Cooper marauded down the wing and slung over a cross which the third Grant in Plymouth’s team today fired home at the far post.
At the other end, John O’Sullivan played-in Lewis Allesandra after 68 minutes but Palmer came off his line quickly to narrow the angle and made a good save. Other than that, the visitors offered very little threat.
So that was it: three goals conceded; none scored; a further three points lost and another red card into the bargain. Could it get any worse? Yes, it could. In South Wales, nearest rivals Stevenage pulled-off a surprise draw at Newport after leading for most of the match to put themselves a point ahead of Derek Adams’ men with a game in hand. Morecambe are now five points adrift of Oldham Athletic in twenty-second position but the Latics also have a game in hand. Being bottom of any table at Christmas is never a good place to be in but the Shrimps are just one fixture away from being in that unenviable position. The game isn’t up yet but Mr Adams will have his work cut out – to put it mildly – to reverse this situation by the end of the season. Today’s regulation win moved the Pilgrims one place up the League Two table into eighth position.
Plymouth Argyle: 24 Alex Palmer; 5 Scott Wootton; 6 Niall Canavan; 3 Gary Sawyer (C); 32 George Cooper; 25 Josh Grant (Y); 17 Tafari Moore; 7 Antoni Sarcevic (15 Conor Grant 71’); 10 Danny Mayor; 11 Dom Telford (18 Billy Clarke 82’); 16 Joel Grant (39 Zak Rudden 67’).
Subs not used: 1 Michael Cooper; 2 Joe Riley; 9 Ryan Taylor; 20 Adam Randell.
Morecambe: 21 Mark Halstead; 12 Ritchie Sutton (R); 27 George Tanner; 3 Luke Conlan; 5 Steven Old; 4 Alex Kenyon (C); 7 John O’Sullivan; 14 Tom Brewitt (Y); 19 Carlos Mendes-Gomes (11 Kevin Ellison 86’); 10 A-Jay Leitch-Smith (9 Cole Stockton 82’); 8 Lewis Alessandra (33 Jordan Cranston 78’).
Subs not used: 28 Andre Filipe Da Silva Mendes; 2 Adam Buxton; 24 Shaun Miller.
Ref: Brett Huxtable.
9474 (62)
Finally, this is as far as I had got as far as today’s Coronavirus postponed game at the Globe was concerned. My headline pre-supposed that Morecambe would win but it never occurred to me until yesterday that the game would be postponed so what do I know?…
Morecambe x:x Plymouth Argyle. EFL League Two; Saturday 14th March 2020.
Plymouth Eat Humble Pie at the Globe.
Fresh from its victory in the 2020 British Pie Awards (Class Champion in the ‘Dessert Pie’ – Bramley Apple – and ‘Sports Pie’ categories for its Lamb & Vegetable offering), Morecambe went back to their bread and butter business today. They welcomed Manager Derek Adams’ previous employers – Plymouth Argyle – to the Globe Arena. Ryan Lowe’s team were hoping to consolidate – or even improve – on their third position in League Two, where they found themselves a single point behind Both leaders Crewe and second place Swindon Town. If they were able to win, Argyle would achieve a double over the Shrimps, whom they beat three-nil at Home Park last December. Overall, they have beaten Morecambe in seven of thirteen previous meetings and lost just three. In recent matches, the Pilgrims have won their last two, lost the one before that and drawn the previous couple in the League. Derek Adams’ new charges, on the other hand, have won only one of their last five games and drawn two. However, they are unbeaten at home so far this year and DA would be looking to undermine his previous employer’s progress toward a League One he personally led them into a couple of years ago. He would also be hoping to at least maintain the Shrimps’ ten-point advantage over next week’s visitors to the North Lancashire seaside – Stevenage Borough. The Hertfordshire club are adrift and seemingly doomed at the very bottom of the entire EFL, having lost every one of their last eight League Two matches.
Forgetting about the ongoing crisis with Coronavirus, Mr Adams had other things of a medical nature on his mind before the game. Goalkeeper Mark Halstead has had a hip operation this week and will be unavailable for three months so Christoffer Mafoumbi – at fault for the Shrimps 1-0 loss at Newport last week – retained his place by default. Cole Stockton was also unavailable after being hurt at Carlisle and injury-prone A-Jay Leitch-Smith was out yet again with a seemingly persistent hamstring problem. Given the continuing absence because of suspension of Adam Phillips, DA had even fewer options than usual to choose from as he prepared to face his former club.
Morecambe: 37 Christoffer Mafoumbi; 30 Ryan Cooney; 33 Jordan Cranston; 5 Steven Old; 16 Sam Lavelle (C); 4 Alex Kenyon; 29 Jordan Slew; 19 Carlos Mendes-Gomes; 15 Aaron Wildig; 32 Toumani Diagouraga; 7 John O’Sullivan.
18 Rhys Oates 27 Harvey Bradbury 14 Tom Brewitt
Subs not used: 21 Mark Halstead; 27 Christian Mbulu; 3 Luke Conlan.
Plymouth Argyle: 24 Alex Palmer; 17 Byron Moore; 5 Scott Wootton; 6 Niall Canavan; 21 Callum McFadzean; 32 George Cooper; 14 Tyreeq Bakinson; 10 Danny Mayor; 18 Ryan Hardie; 31 Luke Jephcott.
Subs not used: 1 Michael Cooper; 4 Will Aimson; 9 Ryan Taylor; 11 Dom Telford; 16 Joel Grant Conor Grant Josh Grant; 20 Adam Randell; 42 Jarvis Cleal.
Ref: James Oldham.
