Salford Frustrated At Last Minute
Imagine that there was a book actually called Wickedpedia – a sort of Lexicon of evil. Under `D’ for Devil, there would also be entries for Dachau; Darth Vader; Demon and so on. Under `S’, we would find Saruman, Satan and Sauron for instance. But before the last three in the alphabetical list of the Dark Side, some people would have us believe that we would have another entry all on its own: Salford City Football Club.
The EFL’s most infamous super-star sponsored club visited the Mazuma Stadium tonight for the second time ever to see if they could repeat the victory over the Shrimps which they achieved on their own patch last November, where they won 2-1. Ash Hunter scored two outstanding goals before Richie Wellens’ team basically shut-up shop using every dirty trick in the book.
Tonight had all the ingredients for a grudge match. The `Ammies’ arrived in sixth position in League Two, two places and a point behind tonight’s hosts, albeit having played a game less. They have won two of their last five League Two games and lost one. City managed to eke-out a draw at home against Carlisle last time out, coming from behind to draw 1-1. There was some irony in this as far as Morecambe supporters are concerned. Carlisle went ahead in the game courtesy of a goal by full-back George Tanner. He was a member of Derek Adams’ squad last season until he was unexpectedly recalled by parent club Manchester United. No doubt relying on their privileged relations with United due to their own Red Devil Royalty, Salford immediately employed his services – and sat George on the bench for the rest of the season. He then signed for Carlisle. So the unanswered question – conspiracy theorists – is: why did they sign him in the first place? Was it just a spoiler? If so, it seems to be in keeping with the ethos of the club, if their display at the Peninsula Stadium against the Shrimps last year is any guide. All of football’s Dark Arts were shamelessly indulged in then and time-wasting promoted from an irritating reality of the game to the lowest of all art forms. It is almost balletic in its cynicism as one player runs some distance to take a throw-in only for another to run from even further away to take the ball from the first one as precious seconds which soon become minutes are wasted. If an opposition player comes within sneezing distance of you, it’s apparently time to fall over and roll about as if pole-axed. Surrounding the referee at every conceivable opportunity whilst waving imaginary red cards in his face is obviously imbedded in the Salford players’ minds as reliably as were Pavlov’s dogs when they also heard a whistle. (Or was it a bell? Who cares?) All these dodgy moves are indulged in so often and so mechanically that they are clearly things the team coached by `Witchy’ Richie regularly rehearse off the field. No wonder Morecambe boss Derek Adams was uncharacteristically angry at the end of last November’s game. He said:
“I’ve never seen a management team, director of football, first-team coach and manager be like they were on the touchline, they were nervous as we passed them off the pitch. The time-wasting they had at the end, the bookings they had in the first half, they were worried about us. We are a right good side, a really good footballing side and we did not deserve to lose tonight. End of story. If Richie Wellens comes out here and says anything other, then he does not have a clue about football. You look at the number of fouls they make in the game and the time-wasting at the end. If that is the way they want to play football, that is not football, that’s not entertainment. Entertainment is about getting the ball and moving it. And creating chances. It is not about moving and diving and falling over the ball like they did. Tonight they did not entertain their fans on the television. We entertained our supporters. We passed the ball, we played, we created chances. If they didn’t have Ash Hunter they do not win the game, end of story.”
Wellens didn’t take the criticism lying down. He said:
“I was a better player than Derek Adams so I’d like to think that I know a little bit about football.”
So I’m sure the two men were delighted to see each other again tonight. Morecambe went into the game on the back of a win at Barrow last Saturday and two losses in their last five league outings. Yann Songo’o made what could well be his last appearance for a while for the Shrimps prior to a potentially long FA ban. Alex Denney was ineligible to face his parent club but it was good to see the perennially-injured but tremendously skilful A-Jay Leitch-Smith featured on the substitutes’ bench tonight.
The weather in Morecambe had been bad on and off all day but as the evening drew in, torrential rain was soaking the North Lancashire resort and the pitch at the Mazuma Stadium looked waterlogged in places over an hour before kick-off at half-past six. But – as a tribute to the grounds-staff and the preparation done to the site before the stadium was built (the constructors claimed that if the pilings hammered into the ground to improve drainage had been laid end-to-end, they would stretch to Preston, over twenty miles away), it was eminently playable by the time kick-off arrived.
The first half started at a tremendous pace which never relented. Salford looked slick and confident throughout but Morecambe probably shaded the opening few minutes with John O’Sullivan and Cole Stockton particularly catching the eye. They both seemed up for it tonight. It was a fascinating half to watch albeit with very few chances. For the visitors, Jordan Turnbull headed well wide after a quarter of an hour. Then Liam Gibson walloped a shot equally well wide for the home team after 27 minutes. Two minutes later, Ian Henderson managed to make a partial block on his former team-mate Kyle Letheren’s clearance which went harmlessly into touch. Then the duo combined once more after half an hour when the Morecambe goalkeeper easily gathered a weak shot. Thirty-three minutes were on the clock when Di’Shon Bernard attempted to pass back to Paul Coutts from the City right only to see the ball go to Sully who played a perfect forward pass for Cole to run onto but his attempt was blocked for a corner by Václav Hladky in the visitors’ goal. Five minutes later, O’Sullivan was marauding down the Morecambe right again and played a pass to Carlos Mendes-Gomes who took it to the goal-line before sliding an inviting low cross right across the Salford penalty area – sadly, Cole was again unable to connect with it. The visitors still looked lively but the half seemed to be petering-out into a goal-less draw until the final minute. Then, the impressive Brandon Thomas-Asante found himself with the ball on the edge of the Shrimps’ penalty area on his right. He took a speculative shot which seemed to bobble right in front of Letheren, who nevertheless should have saved it. But he let it go under his body instead to allow the visitors to take a one goal lead back to their Dressing Room.
Salford were the better team for much of the second period and to be fair to them, there was little of the petulance and time-wasting which characterised their performance earlier in the season against the Shrimps. As rain occasionally swept across the pitch, Salford had a half-chance after 50 minutes when a low cross from their right only just eluded an on-rushing Asante. Three minutes later, a wild effort by a City player went over the roof of the stand into the sopping darkness of the night and it was noticeable that a lot of Salford’s dead ball kicks ended out miles away from where they were intended. As Morecambe’s efforts to equalise became ever more frantic, their general play became just as predictable. Time and again, they hoofed the ball forward in the air – and time and again, City’s large defenders headed the ball away. The home defence did well to block a shot from Gotts after 53 minutes when all eleven of the Shrimps’ players were in the home penalty area to defend a corner. Carlos escaped down the left flank after 58 minutes and sent over a dangerous cross which Salford dealt with well and not long afterwards, Cole made good progress as well before slipping a cross right across the Salford goalmouth from the Morecambe left only to find nobody there to finish it. Just over an hour had been played when Toumani Diagouraga’s header forward was just too far ahead of Sully for him to connect with. Then Yann Songo’o took a shot after 77 minutes – and missed. But the home team’s golden chance to equalise arrived after 81 minutes. Carlos skilfully played-in Stockton for a clear run on goal on the Shrimps’ left. Václav Hladky came scrambling quickly from his goal and Cole should have dinked the ball over him. But instead, he blasted it and the Salford goalkeeper saved it. Straight down at the other end, Letheren’s handling again looked suspect as he failed to deal with substitute Richie Towell’s effort cleanly – but got away with it this time. Then Aaron Wildig took a free-kick through a mass of bodies in the Salford penalty area only to find Carlos, who smashed the ball into the side netting from close-in on the Morecambe left when he might have done better. He missed again after 84 minutes but he would have been off-side in any case. But ninety minutes came and went and it looked as if Salford’s virtually perfect record against Morecambe would remain intact. But still the Shrimps didn’t give up. They forced a corner kick on the right after three minutes of injury time; the ball came over, it was headed against the Salford crossbar and Carlos was finally able to smack the ball into the back of the net to equalise. Two minutes later, the Shrimps were attacking again. Carlos and Sully combined well again only for Mendes-Gomes’s shot to be cleared. The ball found its way back to him and he took another shot which Aaron Wildig – between him and the goal but clearly on-side – deflected past Hladky to give the home team three points which seemed barely imaginable just four minutes earlier. But the drama still wasn’t over. The visitors all piled forward for a final corner kick right at the death. The ball ended up in the Morecambe net but Referee Seb Stockbridge had already blown for a foul on Letheren. Opposite number Hladky – who had come up for the set-piece – was booked for his very aggressive reaction to this as was team-mate Oscar Threlkeld, who hadn’t been on the field very long.
Morecambe must be congratulated for their Never Say Die attitude tonight. It is a cliché to say that the mark of a good team is to win after not playing particularly well – and Salford were without doubt the better team for large periods of the match tonight. City will play worse and win. The three points consolidated Derek Adams’ team’s position in fourth place in League Two tonight. Salford slipped one place to seventh.
Morecambe: 1 Kyle Letheren; 2 Kelvin Mellor (21 Ryan Cooney 63’); 4 Nathaniel Knight-Percival (3 Stephen Hendrie 50’); 5 Sam Lavelle (C)(Y); 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 9 Cole Stockton; 10 Aaron Wildig; 11 Carlos Mendes-Gomes; 16 John O’Sullivan; 22 Liam Gibson; 24 Yann Songo’o (Y).
Subs not used: 12 Mark Halstead; A-Jay Leitch-Smith; 19 Liam McAlinden; 15 Brad Lyons; 7 Jordan Slew.
Salford City: 1 Václav Hladky (Y); 3 Ibou Touray; 4 Jason Lowe; 5 Ashley Eastham (C); 10 Ashley Hunter (18 Oscar Threlkeld (Y)83’); 12 Di’Shon Bernard; 16 Jordan Turnbull (Y); 24 Robbie Gotts (17 Richie Towell 62’); 25 Paul Coutts; 37 Brandon Thomas-Asante; 40 Ian Henderson (19 James Wilson 73’).
Subs not used: 31 William Evans; 2 Tom James; 15 Luke Burgess; 20 Mani Dieseruvwe.
Ref: Sebastian Stockbridge.
