U’s Have The (Kozmic) Blues…
Oxford United arrived in north Lancashire today in seventh place in League One and on the back of two wins and two defeats in their last five league games. They dropped out of the Play-Off positions last Saturday, when they lost a critical match against key rivals for promotion Plymouth Argyle by the only goal of the game at Home Park. So the `Us’ would be looking to get back on track tonight in order to keep in touch with the leaders of the pack of League One. Past meetings between Oxford and Morecambe would give Karl Robinson and his men cause for optimism: United have won six out of fourteen of them and lost only two.
For Morecambe, however, the job in hand tonight was the diametric opposite of their visitors’. They found themselves in twenty-first – the highest of the relegation positions in the table – and urgently needed to try and put some clear blue water between themselves and all the other clubs at the other end of the table. Last Saturday, they won for the first time under Derek Adams’ renewed leadership, beating Burton Albion fairly comprehensively by three goals to nil. Derek said, prior to tonight’s game:
“There are other fixtures that affect us on Tuesday night as well, so we are aware of that as well. Gillingham don’t play and that is what we are looking at. Three points gets us out of the drop zone and that is what we are targeting, we are trying to use that to our advantage, we respect and understand what Oxford United are about. We have got home advantage, the home supporters were here on Saturday in really good numbers once again, and it will be the same again on Tuesday.”
Supporters’ Man of the Match last Saturday – Liam Gibson – added the following:
“I think it was one of my better performances this season. Hopefully I can put in some performances that will enable myself to stay in the team. Us as a defensive unit are under no illusions that we haven’t been good enough this season. We have conceded too many goals. But keeping a clean sheet at the weekend will hopefully help us going into the game on Tuesday.”
As far as the return of Mr Adams to Managerial duties at Morecambe is concerned, he added:
“Having the international break certainly helped, he has managed to get his stamp on the team and hopefully we can start picking up some more positive results.”
One of the few things shared by Saturday’s visitors and tonight’s is that they both normally play in a yellow strip. Other than that, United is a far more accomplished side. So tonight would be an even stiffer test for the Shrimps than Albion had been three days ago.
This evening’s game was dedicated to a group called Her Game Too, which aims to end discrimination against woman and girls in all things to do with football and elsewhere in society too. Good luck to them. As part of the celebration of women’s’ achievements, an all-female playlist was broadcast before the game. I’m still waiting for Janis Joplin and Joan Armatrading to feature – but that probably shows my age. So would I be thinking I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! if Morecambe were to lose tonight – or Bring Me Sunshine (which I’m not sure either Janis or Joan did a cover of) if not?
The weather in north Lancashire had been windy, wet and cold all day in north Lancashire and it didn’t relent as the game started. Oxford must have won the toss because they chose to change ends and play towards a very commendable (given the weather; the distance and the fact that this was a mid-week fixture) 304 of their own supporters during the first half. Right from the start, they looked slick, organised – and quick. They immediately went onto the front foot and it took them just three minutes to take the lead. Mark Sykes made progress down the wing and sent over a cross which Centre-Forward and Skipper Matty Taylor managed to control and then shoot almost in Cole Stockton style – with the same usual result: a goal. The men in the all-white strip were marauding forwards again straight from kick-off and forced a corner which was cleared by the men in red. For the first ten minutes or so, the visitors frankly looked in a different class and I personally was beginning to fear that another hammering was in the offing. But I’d forgotten that this wasn’t a Stephen Robinson side United were playing against: brittle at the back and generally disorganised. This was a Derek Adams side with all its usual hallmarks: organised; disciplined and a threat every time it attacked. Arthur Gnahoua has been a man transformed since Mr Adams returned to the club. Tonight, he posed difficulties for the United defence throughout the game but particularly in the first half. Every time he got the ball, Morecambe looked – and were – dangerous. Although Oxford still played some nice, lively stuff, Morecambe were starting to put some of their own moves together and the visitors gradually looked less assured as time went on. Almost a quarter of an hour had been played when a red wall was moving forwards towards the away penalty area. Official Man of the Match Adam Phillips played in a cross; The U’s struggled to clear the ball and it fell to Captain Aaron Wildig to score with a clever shot which hit a defender and looped past a stranded Jack Stephens and into his net to equalise.
The home crowd stood in the twenty-second minute to applaud in memory of Adam Stutchbury who sadly lost his life last month at just twenty-two years of age. Adam was a Shrimps’ fan and one of the original presenters of Beyond Radio who struggled bravely against quadriplegic cerebral palsy his entire short life. He will be greatly missed.
On the field, a game which was always good to watch was not being helped by the heavy surface, with slips and mistakes by both teams. With twenty-five minutes on the clock, Phillips did brilliantly to anticipate and intercept a ball meant for a United defender to the right of the opposing penalty area from his point of view. He looked up and found Cole with a pinpoint pass which The Goal Machine walloped past a helpless Stephens to turn the match on its head. The game continued to swing from one end to the other, with the visitors probably dominating possession right until half time when the Shrimps went in with a tremendous one goal advantage.
The second half followed the same pattern. Oxford had most of the ball and also created the better chances. They would have scored after an hour if my own Man of the Match – Trevor Carson – hadn’t pulled off a superb save to keep out Herbie Kane’s fierce shot from close-in. Five minutes later, he did brilliantly again to stop what looked like a certain goal by Nathan Holland with his foot. Cole the Goal had another half-chance after 76 minutes but he rushed his shot and missed quite tamely. However, Phillips unleashed a pile-driver of a shot from distance with 84 minutes played. Stephens made a superb save from it; somehow managing to deflect the howitzer over his own bar for a corner. At the other end, though, Oxford were asking most of the questions. Morecambe continued to defend resolutely but the white tide kept on coming as the Shrimps found it increasingly difficult to keep hold of the ball. The man between the home sticks, however, had one more trick up his sleeve. He kept his best work until the ninetieth minute, somehow managing to keep out an effort by substitute Sam Winnall with a world-class last second reaction save.
In doing so, he made sure that his team kept all the points. Derek Adams said prior to Saturday’s match that his team needed to win at least three games to stay in League One. They have now won two in a row. Following the win, these were his thoughts:
“We need a resilience and the players showed that in abundance tonight. I was delighted for them because they put a lot of hard work into the game – as they did probably against the likes of Ipswich and Bolton as well when they probably didn’t get the three points we might have got. Tonight, we have been able to get that three points and it lifts us out of the bottom four tonight.”
Both Fleetwood and AFC Wimbledon could only draw at home tonight and Crewe lost yet again away from home. Morecambe’s win puts them a point above the four teams at the bottom of League One with the same number of games played. The Cod Army are just one place ahead of the Shrimps on goal difference alone, albeit they have a game in hand. If the season ended today, I’m sure we’d all be happy with that.
The opposition Manager claimed after the game that Oxford had not only been the better team tonight; they had also been the better side when they lost to Plymouth on Saturday.
He said:
“At the end of the day, my players couldn’t have done any more. Other than take their chances. And that’s just down to Human error. I can accept human error.”
United slipped to eight in the table as a result of their second defeat on the spin.
Morecambe: 30 Trevor Carson; 2 Ryan McLaughlin (Y) (21 Ryan Cooney 61’); 5 Jacob Bedeau; 9 Cole Stockton; 10 Aaron Wildig (C); 11 Dylan Connolly; 18 Adam Phillips (8 Toumani Diagouraga 85’); 22 Liam Gibson; 24 Arthur Gnahoua (19 Shane McLoughlin 65’); 27 Ousmane Fané (y); 31 Rhys Bennett.
Subs Not Used: 41 Adam Smith; 14 Jonathan Obika; 16 Jacob Mensah; 17 Jonah Ayunga.
Oxford United: 13 Jack Stevens; 2 Sam Long; 16 Luke McNally; 4 Ciaron Brown; 7 Ryan Williams (Y); 9 Matty Taylor (C); 10 Mark Sykes; 18 Marcus McGuane (17 James Henry 63’); 26 Herbie Kane; 27 Nathan Holland (11 Sam Winnall 75’); 21 Gavin Whyte (23 Billy Bodin 63’).
Subs Not Used: 1 Simon Eastwood; 14 Anthony Forde; 15 John Mousinho; 42 Steve Seddon.
Ref: Robert Lewis.
Att: 3882 (304 from Oxford).
