No Cheltenham Festival at Morecambe
Morecambe welcomed League Two leaders Cheltenham Town to the Mazuma Arena today for the reverse fixture from the first day of the season, which they won 1-2 at Whaddon Road last year. The Shrimps have won three of their last five League Two matches and lost one. The Robins, on the other hand, had won three and lost two of their last five league games. Overall, though, they have won more away games in League Two than any other team. The two clubs have played each other twenty-three times in all competitions in the past and the Shrimps have lost ten and won six of them. Morecambe were sixth in League Two prior to kick-off and also six points worse off than their visitors, having both played the same amount of games.
With Josh Griffiths unavailable due to England Under-21 commitments, former regular goalkeeper Scott Flinders found himself stepping back into the firing line for the visitors today. Asked before the game what he made of Opposite Number Derek Adam’s achievements so far this season, Cheltenham Manager Michael Duff replied:
“Brilliant. I think most people would have (Morecambe) down struggling. Historically, that’s what they do. Everyone would have expected them to fall away at some point– and they haven’t because they are a good team. They create the best chances in the league. They are really fluid, the front three are not rigid in what they do and they’ve got good defenders. No matter where they finish this season, he’s done a great job. They’ll be thinking: there’s ten to go here – we can do something special here. And quite rightly so: they can. They’ve got good players; they’ve got a good manager; there definitely seems a spirit; they’re doing the hard yards for each other: that’s the sign of a team that’s together. We’re under no illusions: it’s going to be a really hard game.”
He had obviously done his homework on the opposition. In advance of Carlos Mendes-Gomes’ cameo feature on Football Focus this lunchtime, he identified the interplay between him, Cole Stockton and John O’Sullivan as the key to Morecambe’s success this season. He also guessed at the line-up Derek Adams would choose for the game. One thing he understandably got wrong was the inclusion of Alex Kenyon, who probably would have featured again after a tremendous performance against Harrogate seven days ago. But Alex was injured in training yesterday and was thus unavailable for selection today. With Yann Songo’o still unavailable and Nathaniel Knight-Percival also suspended after being sent off in Yorkshire last Saturday, Mr Adams could at least welcome back Captain Sam Lavelle to his starting eleven today. In the absence of Kenyon, he also changed the usual shape of his team and went with a 4-4-2 formation, with Liam McAlinden partnering Cole Stockton up front. Before the match, he said:
“We’re coming off the back of a good win at Harrogate last week and Cheltenham had an excellent win on the day as well. They went into their last game against Salford having lost their last match against Barrow so they showed good resilience to bounce back and get a victory. They’re a side who are trying to get promoted like ourselves, we won at their place on the opening day of the season and we’ll have to be at our best again to get a win this week. We’ve got a few issues with injuries and suspensions. Now we’re getting into the final ten games we would like to have everyone available, that’s not the case but we have a very good squad of players. We’ve always said that the players throughout the squad would come in and compete, they’ve done that throughout the season and I’m delighted with them all.”
The weather has been variable in Morecambe for the last couple of days: bright sunshine interspersed with heavy rain and gale-force winds – but it was dry when the match kicked-off. There was a minute’s silence before this in tribute to local football legend Dickie Danson, who managed Lancaster City and coached both City and latterly Shrimps’ players for several decades. Football coaches are in the news for all the wrong reasons currently. Coaching in itself has been given a bad reputation by dreadful things that have happened at clubs such as Crewe in recent years but Dickie was the sort of man who could completely restore your faith in the game. He will be missed not just by his family and friends but by players and fans alike.
There was a brisk wind behind their backs as Morecambe played against the visitors in their startling, almost turquoise strip during the first half. After just two minutes, Sam Lavelle headed over the bar from the near post from a corner taken on the Morecambe left. League Two’s possibly least secret weapon – Skipper Ben Tozer’s extraordinarily long throw – was deployed for the first time from their left after six minutes. Every time he used it, though, either Kyle Letheren caught or punched the ball or the Shrimps’ defence managed to clear it without too much trouble. In the tenth minute, Kelvin Mellor found Carlos Mendes-Gomes on the Morecambe right and the television star was in. Unfortunately, he was just off-side. Four minutes later, Carlos returned the favour to Liam McAlinden, who was also just beyond the Cheltenham back-line and was pulled-up again. With a quarter of an hour on the clock, Matty Blair got the better of Liam Gibson on the Town right flank but Morecambe cleared. Then Mellor did well to block two shots from Alfie May in rapid succession from the Robins’ left with sixteen minutes played. Two minutes later, Liam Sercombe put a hopeful shot quite a long way over the bar. But what would turn-out to be the decisive moment of the game arrived after twenty minutes. Letheren booted the ball deep into the visitors’ half; they cleared it as far as Gibson, who headed it forwards for Cole Stockton to flick it on. Liam McAlinden latched onto it and swept the ball past Scott Flinders with a decisive finish against a former employer. A minute later, as Town struggled to clear their lines, Sully walloped the ball wide. Three minutes later, the same player put the ball in the net after deftly controlling Aaron Wildig’s cross from the left – but he was offside. Sam Smith headed over the bar for the Robins with just over a half an hour played and then Sercombe took a shot from the centre of the pitch after 34 minutes which almost hit the left-hand corner flag from his point of view. Smith missed again with a weak header with three minutes to play until the break but the hosts went back to the dressing rooms with a just about deserved lead.
There was a tactical change for the visitors at half time. Throughout the opening period, visiting Skipper Tozer had been taking advantage of the gaps between the advertising hoardings all the way round the pitch to extend the run-up for his howitzer-like throws. During the break, though, the Morecambe ground-staff put barriers across all the gaps and Tozer wasn’t able to employ this tactic during the second period. It really is a team game…
It was virtually one-way traffic during the second half with the Shrimps seemingly happy to let their opponents have the ball and play on the back foot. This hardly added anything to the game as a spectacle – but it worked. Cheltenham played some accurate, effective football at times without ever really working-up a head of steam or putting the hosts under concerted pressure. Letheren made a good save low to his right after just two minutes of the restart when Sercombe’s effort was blocked and he managed to play the ball to his left for May to have a go. But their next actual chance didn’t arrive until almost an hour has passed. This time, Callum Wright sent in a powerful shot from the Town left which the Shrimps’ keeper also did well to deal with at the cost of a corner. They should have equalised after 61 minutes when substitute Finn Azaz found Wright in a perfect position with the goal at his mercy only for the latter to completely mess-up the chance. Five minutes later, Smith headed Chris Hussey’s cross from the left straight at the home goalie. Right at the end in injury time, he took another instant shot which only just missed the target. Today, though, it just wasn’t going to go in for the visitors. Morecambe offered little as an attacking threat throughout the half but Carlos could have really rubbed it in with almost the last kick of the game when his attempt from Mellor’s low cross from the left was blocked – but only just.
To achieve a double over any other team at any time is quite a feat. But to beat the league leaders home and away is no small achievement. Morecambe’s win consolidated their position in sixth place in League Two. The defeat meant that the Robins fell to second place. And guess who Morecambe’s next opponents will be? That’s right: new leaders Cambridge United next Friday in the fen country.
A final word for the Referee, Marc Edwards. He kept his cards in his pocket today and the un-fussy way he spoke to players off the ball and encouraged them to play in the right spirit was a real credit to him. Well done sir.
Morecambe: 1 Kyle Letheren; 2 Kelvin Mellor; 5 Sam Lavelle (C); 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 6 Harry Davis (3 Stephen Hendrie 67’); 22 Liam Gibson; 9 Cole Stockton; 10 Aaron Wildig; 11 Carlos Mendes-Gomes; 16 John O’Sullivan (18 Ben Pringle 90’); 19 Liam McAlinden (21 Ryan Cooney 65’).
Subs not used: 12 Mark Halstead; 23 Freddie Price; 20 Alex Denny.
Cheltenham Town: 1 Scott Flinders; 2 Sean Long; 4 Ben Tozer (C); 17 Lewis Freestone (29 Indiana Vassilev 82’); 11 Matty Blair (18 Finn Azaz 49’); 26 Liam Sercombe; 7 Conor Thomas; 23 Callum Wright (14 Andy Williams 77’); 3 Chris Hussey; 9 Sam Smith; 10 Alfie May (28 Ellis Chapman 82’).
Subs not used: 22 Max Harris; Alex Addai; 24 Grant Horton.
Ref: Marc Edwards.
