Divine Intervention needed? Not on today’s performance…
The leaders of League One, Plymouth Argyle, visited the Mazuma Stadium today on the back of three straight league wins and an unbeaten run of thirteen games. If we were to break this statistic into the Block of Five favoured by Morecambe Manager Stephen Robinson, we would see that their last five league matches have seen them garner eleven points from three wins and two draws: Championship form indeed. The Shrimps themselves are three matches into Robbo’s latest demarcation of Five and they have earnt precisely no points whatsoever with defensively hopeless displays at both Wycombe and Burton and an only slightly better performance last time out at Cheltenham. They still managed to ship three goals there to add to the total of ten conceded in three away matches in a row. It is ironic indeed that the loss of charismatic Captain Sam Lavelle to Charlton Athletic has seen the team’s dramatic drop in form whilst Sam has scored regularly for a club currently struggling even more than his old one are in the relegation section of League One. To keep his plans On Track, Mr Robinson needs to see his charges win their next two games. So what harder task could there be than to attempt to overcome the strongest club in the division on current form today? (For anyone who saw the highlights of their 3-0 demolition of Bolton on a heavily waterlogged pitch in Devon in mid-week, they are clearly not bad at swimming either…) The history of previous meetings between the two outfits was hardly encouraging for Shrimps fans. From thirteen clashes in the past, Morecambe have only three victories to boast about and have lost seven altogether.
There has been a lot of online criticism recently of the club’s Captain Anthony O’Connor’s leadership on the pitch and the Manager’s off it. My view, for what it’s worth, is that Stephen still clearly doesn’t know his best starting eleven. Given the amount of illness and particularly injuries his players have suffered from so far, he can hardly be blamed for this. To have one of your better players – and certainly your best and most influential defender – leave as well has obviously hardly helped him. We don’t have to look far to see that Management is as much a lottery as it is an actual skill: Derek Adams has hardly set League Two on fire since leaving for Bradford but nobody can doubt his pedigree as the boss of both of the clubs which met at the Maz today. It’s true, as well, that O’Connor does not obviously bawl out his team-mates or keep up a constant loud vocal commentary during games. Some people are just like that and it doesn’t necessarily make them poor leaders. It’s surely better to have someone like this than a loudmouth who encourages his colleagues to constantly take-up the wrong positions or do the wrong things and who intimidates, irritates or actually demoralises them by constantly haranguing everybody. Management and leadership are arts, not sciences, as a slogan in a Xmas cracker I once read so profoundly stated. For me, Credo in unum Robbo. Oh yes. This man has a proven track record and I believe that we should support him instead of sniping at him from the sidelines. Plymouth is a huge place with a massive fanbase and far more resources to call upon than we will ever have. They may be leading the pack at the moment but their own first experience of League One ended in tears – and relegation. Success in a higher echelon of football is challenging and we’ve done exceptionally well at times so far. We mustn’t forget this and we also need collectively to be patient. We’re not in the same straits as Doncaster or Charlton after all. The former is a badly-managed club which are looking at a rapid return to League Two after reaching the dizzying heights of the Championship recently. The latter is a Premier League veteran fallen on very hard times. Would you swap positions with either of them at the moment? I wouldn’t…
Anyway, the Gaffer summed-up his team’s predicament at the moment and what he hoped would happen today in these words:
“This three-game block, I don’t think we’ve played particularly well (in it). I think we’ve been just okay, and just okay isn’t good enough at this level. We know what we need to do to change, we’re looking forward to Plymouth, I think it’s a great game to play in, top of the league, prove people wrong and show how good a team we are. Without being cavalier and leaving the pitch open, we need to go and take the game to Plymouth, we have to be brave. When we’ve done that, we took it to Ipswich, we took it to Sheffield Wednesday, we took it to Rotherham, albeit we didn’t win that game, but we have to be brave, I think we’ve got good, good footballers. We’ve had a hard period now, which we always knew would come, and we’ll come back again, I’ve no doubt. The run at home with fans getting behind us, I don’t think they realise how important that is. We’ve got a really young, influenced by social media group that read things and hear things. The more positivity there is around the place, from everybody, from the board of directors down to the management to the players, it certainly does help those younger players and they’ve a massive part to play in the next seven games.”
Opposite number Ryan Lowe said:
“We can’t get complacent; we can’t get carried away. After Tuesday night, it’s on to Morecambe. That’s always the case: onto the next one and see where it takes us. We’re looking forward obviously to playing Morecambe. They’ve had a decent enough start; they’re scoring loads of goal – they’re conceding goals as well but they’re going to be a threat in different departments and it’s one we’ve got to be ready for. The lads are in good spirits; the camp’s all good and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be really, where we are in the league and the games we are winning.”
It was grey, windy but dry in Morecambe both before and during today’s match. Both teams Took The Knee and then the Shrimps went straight onto the front foot as soon as the ball was kicked for the first time.
They had made all the running straight from the off. After two minutes, Jonah Ayunga showed his intent with a cross towards Goal Stockton only for Europe’sleading scorer to be denied by a fine interception by Argyle’s Dan Scarr. Four minutes later, Arthur Gnahoua worked his way down the Morecambe left and took a shot. Visiting goalkeeper Michael Cooper managed to block it but the ball ran loose to Ayunga to produce a fine finish from an acute angle to beat him and put the hosts one-nil up in front of a huge contingent of travelling fans. It was an excellent start as Stephen Robinson’s men took the game to their supposedly more illustrious opponents, who seemed to be struggling with both the pace of the game and the amount of pressure the men in red were applying to them. Jonah missed with another good shot after eight minutes and then the Shrimps’ very impressive Number Seventeen drew a tremendous save from the visiting goalkeeper after a free kick taken by Toumani Diagouraga with ten minutes on the clock.
The Pilgrims had offered little until this point. But with just twelve minutes played, they were level. The men in the green strips worked the ball down their left flank before Ryan Hardie took a shot which was blocked. Time seemed to stand still as the ball was seemingly stuck right in front of the goal and all Morecambe fans prayed that a red-clad leg would clear it. But Plymouth’s Danny Mayor was quickest to react and he walloped it past an already floored Jökull Andrésson to bring the lead leaders back into the game. As fears that the home defence would disintegrate as it has done far too many times recently, it could soon have got even better for the visitors from Devon. Mayor got away down the Argyle left and slipped a cross to Luke Jephcott which was cleared off the line by Shrimps’ Skipper and ex-Pilgrim Anthony O’Connor – who had a really good game today. This was after fourteen minutes. Five minutes later, Scarr and Conor Grant combined well only for Jephcott to put his effort over the bar. Andrésson pulled-off an excellent save after half an hour from Mayor but Referee Marc Edwards ruled that a second attempt by Panutche Camará was off-side. This was one of few decisions the man in the middle – who controversially sent off Shane McLoughlin for the first time in his career earlier this season against Accrington Stanley for what even their Manager said was an `innocuous’ challenge – got right today. He was appalling, making mistake after mistake to the disadvantage of both sides who were playing the game in an excellent spirit. In the meantime, Ayunga had missed with a shot which went over the bar after 21 minutes and then Cole The Goal couldn’t get Greg Leigh’s cross from the left on target with a header. Controversy then ensued when Adam Phillips was clearly pushed in the Pilgrim’s penalty area just two minutes before half time. Only the Referee could explain why this wasn’t a penalty but Mr Edwards seemed to watching a different match to the rest of us most of the time this afternoon. So the match was level at half time.
It was level at the end as well without any more scoring. Stockton and Ayunga both had half-chances for the hosts and Morecambe dominated the entire half. Having said that, Phillips had another poor game this afternoon and yet again overhit a number of set pieces whilst offering very little in terms of tracking-back. Ryan Cooney also was caught out of position far too often for my liking. Ex-Argyle player Toums was his usual imperious self; Skipper Anthony O’Connor led by example and both Ayunga and Leigh again really impressed. Official Man of the Match Callum Jones also played well – particularly in the second half. For me, Morecambe were the better team today and with a little bit of luck – and a better referee – might have taken all three points.
At the end of the game, the Shrimps found themselves in seventeenth position in League One. Plymouth, meanwhile, remained top – just. Wycombe are level on points with them but have also played one match fewer.
I note that the club has appointed a Club Chaplain this week in the shape of Martin Bateman. I’ve already stated my particular creed – Credo in Unum Robbo – but if I start to find my faith starting to waver or – god forbid – even fail, maybe I will be having a word with him at some time in the future. Only joking – a bit of luck as opposed to Divine Intervention would be more useful to Stephen Robinson at the moment in my view. Whatever – and I say this as a card-carrying atheist – good luck Martin; I’m sure you will do a good job.
Morecambe: 20 Jökull Andrésson; 3 Greg Leigh; 4 Anthony O’Connor (C); 6 Callum Jones (Y); 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 9 Cole Stockton; 15 Ryan Delaney; 17 Jonah Ayunga (7 Wes McDonald 80’); 18 Adam Phillips (23 Freddie Price 90’); 21 Ryan Cooney; 24 Arthur Gnahoua.
Subs Not Used: 1 Kyle Letheren; 12 Ryan McLaughlin; 6 Callum Jones; 16 Jacob Mensah; 22 Liam Gibson; 27 Shayon Harrison.
Plymouth Argyle: 1 Michael Cooper; 4 Jordan Houghton (Y); 5 James Wilson; 6 Dan Scarr; 8 Joe Edwards (C); 9 Ryan Hardie; 10 Danny Mayor; 15 Conor Grant; 22 Brendan Galloway (Y); 28 Panutche Pereira Camará; 31 Luke Jephcott.
Subs Not Used: 25 Callum Burton; 3 Macaulay Gillesphey; 7 Ryan Broom; 14 Jordon Garrick; 18 Kieran Agard; 20 Adam Randell; 27 Ryan James Law.
Ref: Marc Edwards.
Att: 4,272 (658 from Plymouth).
