Play Off Push Ends with a Whimper against Crewe.
It’s only just over five weeks since Morecambe last played Crewe Alexandra. Then – on Tuesday, March 2nd – they came from two goals down at Gresty Road to win 2-3 to put their recent campaign to reach the League Two Play-Offs back on the rails very appropriately at the home of the railwaymen.
Crewe have played seven games since this defeat and won only one of them – against struggling Sutton United. Before tonight’s match, they had failed to win in any of their previous five games; drawing three and losing two of them, including a 0-3 home reverse against bottom of the Division Forest Green Rovers eight days ago. Last Saturday – with no less than ten first-team players missing due to injury – Alex managed a goal-less draw at Accrington. In all seventeen previous meetings with Morecambe, Crewe have won nine and lost five. Despite their recent poor league record, the Railwaymen arrived at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in sixth place in League Two, seven points ahead of tonight’s hosts. Their Manager, Lee Bell, said this after the draw at Stanley:
“Yes, we are lacking numbers, but we have faced that before and we won’t make excuses. I’m delighted with the work ethic.”
As far as the latest clash is concerned, he hopes that memories of his team’s 2-3 reverse five weeks ago would motivate his players to do better tonight:
“I hope that game is still in the players’ minds – we should have seen that game out. I hope it is motivation and we have to put a plan together and go there looking for three points. We have to be positive. We’ll keep going, and I’ve told the players they have to go again on Tuesday. That’s what you have to do if you want to be successful – get your brain to tell your legs they are okay.”
Morecambe started tonight’s game in tenth place in the Division, their hopes of achieving a Play-Off place at the end of the season next month all but scuppered by a pretty pathetic showing against Doncaster last Saturday, where they were easily beaten at home by three goals to nil. Statistically, though, the game is not yet up but the Shrimps would realistically have to take all three points tonight if their slim hopes of ending-up in the top seven stands any chance at all of being realised. Manager Ged Brannan was under no illusions about what was needed when he spoke to Matt Smith prior to tonight’s game:
“It’s going to be very tough. Obviously we’ll give it our best shot until the very end and win as many games as we can and see what happens. On our day, we can take on anyone in this league. I’ve said this from Day One. It just depends what Morecambe turns up on the day. We’ve been really inconsistent the whole season and we’ve got to put a run together at the end now to push on to get into the Play-Offs.”
As far as tonight’s opponents are concerned, Our Ged dismissed the fact that they are suffering from a lot of injuries to First Team players:
“No matter what Crewe you play, they’re always a top team. They’ve got a great Manager there – he’s one of the Managers of the Year; he’s been nominated for that – he’s been fantastic this season. Crewe will be a really hard test for us. They will pass the ball; they will press us: it will be hard for us tomorrow.”
It had been a wet and windy day in north Lancashire today: the sea an angry brown and running very high with it as it tried to breach the flood defences just past lunchtime right along the Morecambe seafront. But by kick-off time this evening, the waves had abated; the tide had retreated and the sun had come out. But the wind persisted and it was still sharp enough to bite increasingly deeply with its big frosty teeth as the night grew older.
Morecambe started the game brightly and dominated the possession for the entire first half until near the end. Not too many weeks ago, young Crewe goalkeeper Tom Booth was in hospital following an injury at Tranmere which saw one of his lungs collapse. There was no sign of it tonight and he was the difference between the two teams in the first half. He did really well to save Joel Senior’s brilliant free-kick from a promising position after twelve minutes. Ten minutes later, he was helped-out by Josh Austerfield as he cleared a header from Yann Songo’o following a corner off his own goal-line. Apart from that and two efforts from Jordan Slew – one of which only just missed the target after 36 minutes after Senior had found him from a free-kick; the other a minute later as his shot from just outside the penalty area only just missed – Morecambe were in complete control. Until the dying moments of the half. Then, Elliott Nevitt took a shot which was easily saved by Archie Mair in the home goal in the 41st minute. Two minutes later, Nevitt set-up Matús Holícek for another strike on goal which Archie did well to keep out. It was a warning that the Shrimps failed to heed.
In the second half, with the strong wind behind their backs, Crewe started to take control of the game. A team which was clearly barely familiar with each other started to show why they are higher in League Two than tonight’s hosts. They started to press higher up the pitch and move the ball quicker and more incisively than they had done at any time during the first half. In response, Morecambe kept trying to do the same old thing – play the ball across the back until a midfield opening appeared – and failing. But Alex were succeeding in gradually taking the game by the scruff of its neck. With twenty minutes played since the re-start, Lewis Leigh’s free-kick was pushed away by the home custodian for a corner from which Captain Mickey Demetriou eventually walloped the ball over the home crossbar. Shortly afterwards – as Charlie Brown was caught in possession – the Railwaymen again passed the ball forwards through their ranks quickly and effectively only for Holícek to again hit a shot wildly over the bar. But the decisive moment of the game arrived in the seventy-third minute. Zac Williams turned the Shrimps’ defence inside out on the Crewe left, ran through the retreating wall of red and unleashed a shot centrally only to see it deflected into the path of Nevitt, who smashed the ball home from a tight angle. And that was basically that. Morecambe struggled to play the ball out of their own half after this and several changes by Our Ged made not a bit of difference. Gwion Edwards – who tried too hard tonight and was not quite smart enough to get the better of an increasingly resolute Crewe defence – actually forced Booth into a routine save with just three minutes scheduled to play. But the only thing that surprised at least Yours Truly was a Red Card almost at the end of the game. Leigh clattered Joel Senior and referee Scott Oldham – who was far closer to it than I was – had no hesitation in sending the Crewe player off. From where I was sitting, it looked very harsh. But Mr Oldham had an excellent game tonight so he clearly saw something in the challenge that I certainly didn’t. Having seen the highlights, though, it is clear that Leigh went through Joel with a two-footed challenge off the ground. So hats off to the Ref for getting this decision spot-on.
Sadly though, the game ended as a damp squib for Morecambe – a really anti-climatic way to give-up their Play-Off hopes. Their latest home defeat saw them drop to twelfth in the League Two table tonight. Crewe moved up to fifth with their first victory in a very long time. Good luck to them. I rarely disagree with Ged Brannan’s analysis of the game. But I can’t go along with part of what he said after the match:
“The weather spoilt it. I thought first half, we dominated the game; we had the most chances. The second half, it was other way round. It just sums up the luck we are having at home at the minute. We get a couple of shots; ricochets, first half: it goes to their men in their box – they get one shot; ricochet straight to their man; they score. It’s killing us at the minute: we’re just having no luck at all at home at the minute.”
There was no question of luck tonight. Last Saturday, Morecambe were outclassed by Doncaster Rovers, simple as that. Tonight, they were eventually outplayed by Crewe and that’s all there is to it. Having said that, I must wholeheartedly agree with his assessment of the season so far. Our Ged has done a brilliant job under extraordinary pressure since Derek Adams jumped ship earlier this season. The latest problem he is facing – an embargo on signing players imposed by the EFL for murky failures to pay tax – means he not only cannot sign new ones but is also resigned to losing all the better ones he currently has because he can’t offer them new contracts. Nobody can begrudge him portraying this season as a success in relative terms. Pointing out that Morecambe were the Usual Suspects’ favourites for relegation this term, he added the following after the latest disappointment against Crewe:
“The record points that they got here – except the Play-Offs in Division Two – is sixty-three. We’re on sixty points now so we’re doing really well. We can get to sixty-three; maybe sixty-six in the last three games: we’ll have broke the record except the Play-Offs. It’s a good season, really.”
Amen to that…
Morecambe: 30 Archie Mair; 3 David Tutonda; 4 Jacob Bedeau; 5 Farrend Rawson (C) (17 Cammy Smith 81’); 6 Yann Songo’o (Y); 8 Joe Adams (10 JJ McKiernan 65); 12 Joel Senior; 14 Jordan Slew; 19 Gwion Edwards (40 Adam Fairclough 87’); 20 Charlie Brown (9 Ged Garner 80’); 38 Nelson Khumbeni.
Substitutes not used: 21 Adam Smith; 11 Julian Larsson; 28 Oscar Threlkeld.
Crewe Alexandra: 13 Tom Booth; 2 Ryan Cooney; 3 Rio Adebesi; 4 Zac Williams; 5 Mickey Demetriou (C); 10 Shilow Tracey (21 Aaron Rowe 65’); 14 Lewis Leigh (R); 17 Matús Holícek (11 Joel Tabiner 77’); 20 Elliott Nevitt; 25 Josh Austerfield; 28 Lewis Billington.
Substitutes not used: 40 Mikolaj Lenarcik; 24 Charlie Finney; 29 Zak Kempster-Down; 30 Charlie Kirk; 33 Calum Agius.
Ref: Scott Oldham.
Att: 3,564 (464 from Crewe.)
