Morecambe Matchzone

Stevenage 2:2 Morecambe

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Morecambe’s Lack Of Ambition Gifts Stevenage Unlikely Point.

In what could yet prove to be a key moment of their season, Stevenage won at Blundell Park last Saturday to push themselves into twenty-first position in League Two. Fellow-strugglers Grimsby had drawn themselves level in injury time at the end of the game only for Boro to steal all three points with a goal in the ninety-fifth minute and put themselves four precious points clear of the drop zone with a 1-2 win. However, business as usual was resumed last Tuesday when Stevenage lost nil-one at home to Exeter City, who were brushed aside by Morecambe at St James’ Park in their last away outing. Stevenage’s recent form – two losses and one victory in their last five league games – is nevertheless the best it has been in quite some time and augurs well for them in a situation where Grimsby and Southend seem to have forgotten that winning feeling and Barrow also look as if they might be in trouble right at the bottom of the EFL.

The Shrimps have a poor record in previous contests with the Hertfordshire club; in fact, it may be no exaggeration to suggest that they seem to collectively have a mental block as far as they are concerned. Last season, Stevenage ended-up being bottom of League Two and would have been relegated had not the Coronavirus pandemic intervened to save them this richly deserved fate. Nevertheless, Morecambe contrived to lose at Broadhall Way during October 2019 and found themselves adrift at the bottom of the EFL at the end of the game. In fourteen previous meetings, the Shrimps have only won once as opposed to Stevenage’s eight victories. Earlier this season, Derek Adams’ team struggled to gain a point against Alex Revell’s side at the Mazuma Stadium, having fallen behind against a team they really should have beaten easily. So what would happen today? Morecambe not so much lost as threw the game away in north Lancashire against Tranmere last Saturday and with it an outstanding home record. They played the entire second half with ten men following Yann Songo’o’s sending-off for a completely avoidable incident and one of the team’s best players – Burnley loanee Adam Phillips – also missed from the penalty spot. Would they self-destruct again today or would they pick up the pieces and continue the fine run of form which had taken them to sixth place in the division?

The stark difference in resources between the two clubs can be summed-up by their contrasting fortunes before the transfer window shut last Monday. Stevenage signed striker Jahmal Hector-Ingram on loan from Derby earlier this week along with Cypriot international midfielder Jack Roles from Spurs. QPR midfielder Ilias Chair; Bradford City winger Jordan Gibson and forwards Elijah Adebayo from Fulham and Calum Dyson from Plymouth were also added to Alex Revell’s squad, all of them also on loan. Ex-Blackburn goalkeeper Oliver Byrne signed this week too on a permanent deal, having previously impressed whilst on loan. Today, David Stockdale played only his second game after being borrowed from Wycombe as emergency cover for usual goalkeeper Jamie Cumming, who was injured in the game at Grimsby. The Manager explained the seven new additions to his squad in these terms:

“All the players need to know that they are an injury, an illness, a performance away from being involved & that keeps everyone together.”

For the Shrimps, though, things were very different: just one player in on-loan; one key one out permanently and another facing a considerable ban. Yann Songo’o was obviously not available for selection today as he faces potentially severe sanctions for allegedly calling a Tranmere player a `faggot’ last time he played. I’d be personally dismayed if a man who, very sadly, will almost certainly have encountered racist remarks at some time in his life would insult anybody else in a similarly ignorant and offensive manner. No doubt Yann knows all the racist epithets even though English isn’t his first language – but he has no excuse for not knowing all the others as well. If he has actually used one of these terms, it would just go to show that nobody – regardless of their colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation – has a monopoly over thoughtless, unacceptable behaviour.  But there we go; as he might say in his own first language: c’est la vie. If he is indeed guilty, let’s all hope he learns from a lesson from it; education is always a better tool to use than the blunt instrument of Political Correctness. My, that’s profound. Anyway…

Arguably even worse news for Morecambe and its fans was that the vultures swept-down from on high and plucked the heart out of Derek Adams’ squad just as the Transfer Window was about to close. Last Monday, Adam Phillips – the team’s talismanic leading scorer this year – was recalled by parent club Burnley literally right at the last minute and immediately re-loaned to the Clarets’ local League One club, Accrington. Stanley’s gain is definitely John Coleman’s ex-employer’s loss and there is a whiff of skulduggery about the move as Phillips was supposed to stay with the Shrimps until the end of the season. The departing player told Stanley’s website on arrival:

“I enjoyed my time at Morecambe, it’s been a great season for me so far. I have scored goals and played lots of minutes and that’s what I wanted to do. The manager there has given me a lot of praise and I am looking forward to carrying on playing well.”

Good luck to the lad but I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing he had left in different circumstances. DA acted quickly to get Salford City’s Alex Denny in as a loanee replacement for him: the only new face at the club since their last outing. The 20 year-old will do exceptionally well to be even a half as effective as Adam has been during two loan periods at the Mazuma Stadium. It has also emerged that Burton Albion tried to buy Captain Sam Lavelle’s services last Monday. Their offer was rejected and he is still part of Derek Adams’ squad – for now at least. Better news was that Aaron Wildig was not prised away to Pastures New and Carlos Mendes-Gomes will remain a Morecambe player until at least the end of the season. Theoretically at least. Both of these players started today and there was a return for Alex Kenyon to the starting line-up as well as a direct replacement for Songo’o.

It was dry but overcast as the game kicked-off on a heavy pitch and for the first five minutes, Morecambe did all the pressing. Aaron Wildig had the first chance of the match with just two minutes played: a clever flick from Cole Stockton saw him go on a clear run towards goal from the Morecambe left but his close-range shot went into the side netting. After three minutes, David Stockdale was forced to leave his line to catch a high lob into his penalty area and avert any threat. Then – with four minutes played – Toumani Diagouraga made a smart interception in midfield and played the ball to Carlos Mendes-Gomes, who motored up the left flank before slinging over a perfect cross to Wildig at the far post. Aaron fluffed his lines again with a poor header. Stevenage had barely crossed the halfway line when, with seven minutes on the clock, they won a free kick in the visitors’ half. Chris Lines took it; the Shrimps’ defence cleared it but the ball fell to Elliot List on the right-hand side of the Morecambe penalty area from his point of view. His instant volley was in the back of the net probably before Kyle Letheren even saw it. Seemingly unperturbed by this sudden reverse though, Morecambe continued to make all the running. Following good approach play, Mendes-Gomes fashioned a shooting chance for himself after eleven minutes – and blasted the ball over the bar. Two minutes later and Carlos was on the ball again – on the right flank this time. His cross towards Cole Stockton on the left, however, was just too high. Toumani then also placed a header just too high when he met a cross from the right after twenty minutes. Stevenage went straight down the other end and Terence Vancooten drew a good stop not just once but twice as the Morecambe goalkeeper blocked his initial fierce drive from the Boro right and then saved his shot from the rebound as well. Stockton forced Stockdale to concede a corner with a shot from a very acute angle on the Shrimps’ right after 22 minutes which the home team managed to clear. Three minutes later though, the Shrimps equalised. Sam Lavelle took a free kick in his own half and booted the ball to Steven Hendrie who raced up the left wing and sent over a perfect cross for Carlos to sweep home at the far post. Joe Martin went close to putting the home side back into the lead after almost half an hour with a tremendous free kick which Letheren excelled to push over the bar high up to his right. But the visitors were soon marauding forward again and when Cole received the ball in his own half after 31 minutes, I at least expected him to pass it out to the wings. Instead, he took the ball forward alone, progressed almost as far as the opposing penalty area and unleashed a thunderbold of a shot just to the left of it which left Stockdale completely helpless as it arrowed its way into the net: it was a fantastic strike. And so it went on – despite the early setback, Morecambe never looked like losing this game and at half time, they seemed odds-on to win even more easily against a Stevenage side that was clearly lacking in confidence and woefully short of ideas. An incident after 41 minutes said it all for the home team. They won a rare corner kick on their right only to see the ball booted straight into touch on the left for a Shrimps’ goal kick.

So all the visitors had to do in the second half was play like they had for the first forty-five minutes and three points to take back to Lancashire would be in the bag. But the old Stevenage Hoodoo came back to haunt them yet again. The game was a pretty dreary affair in the second period where I thought Derek Adams got his tactics completely wrong. Stevenage were clearly there for the taking but Morecambe went onto the back foot instead, seemingly happy to hang onto what they already had. In doing so, they allowed the home team to have the ball most of the time and dominate possession. Inevitably – as the Shrimps tried and failed to play effectively on the break – they lost momentum. As the rain started to fall in the last twenty minutes, Alex Revell chanced his arm and sent on three substitutes to add to the one he had already made. The first of these – Danny Newton – was sent on specifically to contest a corner kick. Again, the ball whistled over his and everybody else’s head as the ball went straight into touch once more. But still Morecambe backed-off and invited disaster. It finally arrived just a minute after the Manager’s final throw of the dice: Morecambe blocked two attempts on goal in their own penalty area but the second one saw Danny Newton’s effort deflected high and wide to loop downwards towards Luke Norris– and he made no mistake with a powerful header. This was with ten minutes left to play and it could have got even worse in the rain and gathering darkness as the Shrimps were clearly hanging-on towards the end against a poor team. But they survived and managed to continue their appalling record against Stevenage in circumstances where they could – and should – have won easily.

Boro found themselves still in twenty-first position at the end of the game but breathing more easily as Barrow lost at 0-2 home to Cambridge and Grimsby also went down by the only goal of the game at Newport. Morecambe will be kicking themselves all the way back up the M6 when they think about what might have been – and what actually happened. Their lack of ambition today against a Revell model whose pieces don’t really fit saw them fall to seventh in League Two.

Stevenage:  37 David Stockdale; 2 Luther James-Wildin (C); 15 Terence Vancooten; 17 Elliott List (7 Charlie Carter 65’); 19 Arthur Read (26 Tom Pett 79’); 24 Ross Marshall (3 Ben Coker 79’); 27 Jack Aitchison; 28 Joe Martin; 36 Luke Norris; 35 Matty Stevens (11 Danny Newton 74’); 40 Chris Lines.

Subs not used: 13 Billy Johnson; 4 Romain Vincelot; 6 Luke Prosser.

Morecambe:  1 Kyle Letheren; 4 Nathaniel Knight-Percival; 3 Stephen Hendrie; 5 Sam Lavelle (C); 10 Aaron Wildig; 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 9 Cole Stockton; 11 Carlos Mendes-Gomes; 16 John O’Sullivan (15 Brad Lyons 76’); 21 Ryan Cooney (Y); 14 Alex Kenyon (6 Harry Davis 58’).

Subs not used:  12 Mark Halstead; 20 Alex Denny; 19 Liam McAlinden; 7 Jordan Slew; 22 Liam Gibson.

Ref: James Oldham.

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