So Near But So Far in the Morecambe Monsoon…
Before we start, we must first of all consider a very dramatic statement made by the Board of Directors of Morecambe Football Club last Monday. For the first time, the Board collectively criticised long-term owner Jason Whittingham and his corrosive influence at the club over the last few years. They appealed for potential purchasers of Morecambe to negotiate with them directly so that a future sale which Mr Whittingham and his Bond Group clearly have no real intention of sanctioning can actually be discussed and hopefully agreed.
Good luck to them.
This development is a truly brave stance by the Board which will be welcomed by all genuine Morecambe supporters. I personally hope that we can collectively express our support for this decision by going public on this issue with demonstrations and other peaceful protests against the Bond Group and its owner.
Whether this will happen – or not – is entirely in our own hands.
Time will tell if we follow the example of our own Board and stand up and be counted in our hour of absolute need. The fans of many other football clubs’ fans – from Blackpool to Charlton and Exeter to Reading for instance – have had the collective determination to do so.
The alternative, of course, is to continue to meekly sit on our hands and do nothing at all – which is what has happened ever since the Bond Group got its hands on our club.
Anyway -that’s enough for now about what has been happening away from the pitch.
On it, Morecambe welcomed the leaders of League Two – Stockport County – to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium this afternoon for their first meeting in well over twelve years. The Shrimps just about lead the Positive Results table as far as wins in previous meetings between the two clubs are concerned. They have been victorious in three out of five fixtures in all competitions but three out of four of these have been achieved in the league games which the clubs have contested in the past. There have never been any draws between Morecambe and Stockport. Back in the day – as County poached our best player Carl Baker after a sensational performance against them – the team from the town just south of Manchester were very much the senior club. But for the best part of the last dozen years, this has no longer been the case. The Hatters were in the National League wilderness for over ten years until the club’s Board had the very good sense to appoint former AFC Fylde and Hartlepool boss Dave Challinor as their new Manager. Since then, they have never looked back. Two years ago, they were a non-league club. Next season, all the signs are that they will be in League One.
Stockport arrived in north Lancashire in pole position in League Two with forty-two points. This is fifteen points more than twelfth-placed Morecambe have accrued so far but the Shrimps have played two games fewer. However, County’s current record isn’t brilliant. They lost for the first time this season two weeks ago at Newport, who won 2-1. Then they were unable to beat Salford City at Edgeley Park a few days later – the League Two game ended goal-less. Last Saturday, they fell behind to National League Aldershot in an FA Cup tie before pulling ahead in the pouring rain at the beginning of the second half only to be pegged back by the Shots in a match which ended 2-2. So that’s no wins in the last three fixtures for the league leaders (four if we include the EFL Trophy defeat by two goals to nil last Wednesday at Wigan).
Morecambe, on the other hand, put an end to four League Two defeats in a row with a convincing win at League One Wycombe by two goals to nil in the FA Cup last Saturday. Rookie Manager Ged Brannan is looking for his first win in the league and he had this to say about the opposition before today’s clash:
“They’ve had a few injuries and they’ve lost a few games but they’re still a top team. Dave’s doing a fantastic job there: last season they made the play-offs. They’re a really well organised team so we’re going to have to be at our best to beat them. We’re at home so they’re going to have to stop us from playing. We’ll go out and play our normal game: high tempo; getting men forward; passing the ball like we can. It’ll be up to them to stop us playing.”
The man whose praises Ged had sung was asked if former Manager Derek Adams’ departure to Ross County would have a noticeably negative effect on the club he was about to face. He replied:
“No, not really because they’ve been pretty – well – very consistent in terms of their team selection that they’ve picked. You can look at their league form; losing significantly to Wrexham and losing at home to Newport. But in the last two rounds of the cup, they have went to Lincoln away and have gone to Wycombe away – League One teams – and won. So we know exactly what to expect. When a manager from the outside goes into a struggling team or a team that’s not been performing, then the likelihood is that they make changes – whether that be in personnel; system or philosophy. Ged was in there with Derek and John’s still there – both who I know well. So from their perspective, it’s just been: keep things turning over. They’ve had a couple of bad results in the league. That happens. But they picked-up a really good win in the cup and they want to take that momentum into the league game. So we know what we’ll come up against. We’ve got to make sure that we take care of our stuff, really. And if that’s the case then we know that we have an opportunity to go and win a game of football. We’ll do everything to make that happen. It’s always hard with teams that have been relegated and come down a division because you’re unsure as to the impact that will have in terms of them moving forward (and) confidence .They brought in some younger players. They are a pretty young team so there’s inconsistencies within that. But they’ve shown that they’ve won games this season that, on paper, you may have said: no; you wouldn’t fancy them to win that. So they’ve got themselves in a position based on how they’ve performed. So they’ll fancy themselves to keep plugging away. I suppose with quite a large group of teams in around the playoff positions, if they can put a run together and win the games that they do have (in hand), they can certainly promote themselves up a little bit a few more places in the table. So they’re in it. Why can’t they be one of the ones to challenge?”
The weather has been appalling in north Lancashire all week: freezing at times and relentlessly wet and windy. Today was no exception. At almost the darkest part of the winter, squally rain fell on and off on a day that never even threatened to properly brighten-up until about an hour before kick-off. Stockport and their fans will be used to this – it rains regularly in Greater Manchester even during the summer, after all…
It’s just as well that everyone was used to bad weather because this was the dominant influence on this match. As the watery sun disappeared again almost as soon as it had appeared, down came the rain once more.
Across Morecambe Bay and invisible this afternoon in the low cloud, Barrow was being saturated by the same monsoon which was blowing across the water towards us just a few miles away as the fly crows. The game against Gillingham at Holker Street was postponed today because of a waterlogged pitch as a direct result. It is a tribute to both Morecambe’s groundstaff and the drainage on the surface at the Maz that this game was not just played but actually finished because the downpour was absolutely incessant throughout it. Worse still for the players and excellent Referee John Busby and his assistants, a gale blew from the home end of the ground towards the packed away end – and it never relented for a single moment. The strength of this blast from the sea was such that the corner flag at the home end nearest the main stand was almost horizontal to the ground throughout proceedings. It was so strong that although the Stockport X feed claimed after a minute “Great noise coming from that packed away end, as the game gets underway”, at the other end of the stadium where I was, the wind was so powerfully blowing their voices into oblivion to the east that you could barely hear them.
So it was something of a miracle that the two teams were able to serve-up anything approaching a decent contest in this appalling weather. But they did.
The visitors in their dark blue shirts were the better side during the first half even as they played into the storm. They passed the ball well; they were mobile and they showed that understanding which really good sides always display even in adversity.
Both goalkeepers had to contend with a slippery ball; rain in their faces at times and unpredictability as shots coming towards them were blown all over the place in the gale. Each of them did well to keep out various efforts at different points in the match. Adam Smith made a really good save from Odin Bailey after 27 minutes as a long-range shot came though a crowd and could easily have caught him out as he dived to his right. He did well again in the sixty-sixth minute to shove a wildly in-swinging corner from the same player away for another dead ball kick from the other side of the pitch. Two minutes later, substitute Callum Camps saw his effort from some way out dip and hit the top of Smith’s crossbar on its way out of play. Opposite Number Ben Hinchcliffe did well to turn a long-range drive by JJ McKiernan away for a corner kick with 33 minutes played. He did even better to keep out an effort from Michael Mellon in the eightieth minute.
But the key moments of the game arrived in the seventieth and eighty-seventh minutes. With twenty minutes scheduled to play, substitute Jordan Slew received the ball in the Hatter’s half just to the right of the centre circle from his point of view. He looked-up and played a killer pass to Davis Tutonda, who – from just right of centre – in turn picked-out leading scorer Michael Mellon on the edge of the away penalty area. And Michael did what he does more often than not and placed the ball out of Hinchcliffe’s reach to put the home side one goal to the good. To be honest, the Shrimps had been under the cosh for much of the time before they scored this brilliant counter-attacking goal. But County never gave up. As we were all holding our breath and hoping for an outstanding victory, they finally breached the Morecambe dam in the eighty-seventh minute when Kyle Wootton managed to bundle the ball home after the ball had been crossed into the centre. This is when we really missed both Farrend Rawson (out of the squad today with a twisted ankle) and Yann Songo’o, who had retired hurt a little while earlier.
However, a draw was a fair result, given the meteorological conditions which both teams had to contend with for the entire game. County had more possession but I personally think that Morecambe had the marginally better chances. Whatever, the draw kept the Hatters at the top of League Two this evening; four points clear of Wrexham, who have played a game less. Morecambe remained in twelfth place.
This match was played in a remarkably good spirit: there was no play-acting by either side and the injuries suffered by both teams – probably because of the conditions – were obviously genuine. County striker Antoni Sarcevic was helped from the field after just twenty-three minutes. Morecambe’s Iron Man Yann Songo’o was also assisted off the pitch and looked to be in some distress with about fifteen minutes left. Even more worryingly, leading scorer Michael Mellon went down after holding his hamstring for some time previously as he shuffled around the pitch and had to be replaced during the last ten minutes. The Manager assured us all afterwards that he was just suffering from cramp and nothing more serious.
(Off the field, there was also a medical emergency on the Berlin Wall during the game and one of our number was wheeled away through the pouring rain on a stretcher. Good luck to them.)
Anyway – this was Ged Brannan’s first league point as the Manager of Morecambe Football Club. He must have been disappointed by getting so close to a win only to be pegged-back with just a few minutes left. But he put on a brave face when he said after the game:
“It was a good game considering the weather. It was horrendous. Both teams adapted quite well. To concede late on; you’re disappointed. But I will take one-one all day long. I am ever so proud of the lads today – they were absolutely brilliant; put in a great shift; worked really hard. They listened to what we said at half time: we were going to play deep and counter-attack them. It worked really, really well for is. It shows how much heart the lads have got – and how much belief they’ve got in us as well. I’m really proud of them. It was a great atmosphere and a great game.”
Morecambe: 21 Adam Smith ; 3 David Tutonda; 4 Jacob Bedeau (C); 6 Yann Songo’o (18 Jake Taylor 76’); 7 Tom Bloxham (14 Jordan Slew 58’); 8 Eli King; 9 Michael Mellon(16 Jacob Davenport 82’); 10 JJ McKiernan; 11 Adam Mayor (Y); 12 Joel Senior;22 James Connolly;.
Substitutes not used: 26 George Pedley; 15 Chris Stokes; 17 Cammy Smith; 19 Ethan Walker; 23 Max Melbourne.
Stockport County: 1 Ben Hinchcliffe; 3 Ibou Touray; 6 Fraser Horsfall (26 Jayden Richardson 81’); 7 Macauley Southam–Hales; 9 Paddy Madden (C); 10 Antoni Sarcevic (8 Callum Camps 23’); 15 Ethan Pye (2 Kyle Knoyle 81’); 18 Ryan Croasdale; 19 Kyle Wootton; 25 Isaac Olaofe; 27 Odin Bailey.
Substitutes not used: 4 Akil Wright; 5 Neill Byrne; 12 Jordan Smith; 22 Joel Cotterill.
Ref: John Busby.
Att: 4,505 (an outstanding 1,562 from Stockport.)
