Drought is over at last for Shrimps
MORECAMBE manager Jim Bentley beamed ‘this one was for the fans’ after the Shrimps finally broke a 17-game winless run against Lancashire rivals Accrington Stanley.
Bentley, who has served as both a player and a manager during the derby drought, oversaw a gritty victory as his side registered a first Football League victory over the visitors.
Aaron Wildig’s first goal since a permanent summer switch from Shrewsbury proved the difference between the two sides, ending a demon that has hung over those at the Globe Arena.
“This one is all about the result and getting that all important first win to break the cycle. I’ve been involved in the last eight years since it started and it’s been hard to take,” Bentley said.
“I’m made up for the fans to give them something to sing about. For everyone concerned tonight, it’s a fabulous result for us.
“At Hartlepool we created many chances, did well against Sheffield United and we’ve come away getting beat from both games.
“We weren’t at the races, we weren’t great but we’ve scraped a win so I’ll take it all day long."
As Bentley attests, the visitors were the better side, but they found themselves behind after Morecambe’s first meaningful foray forward.
Striker Paul Mullin found Jamie Devitt’s advancing run with a defence-splitting pass and Wildig smartly finished on the half-volley.
Alan Goodall almost doubled the lead as his 30-yard shot cannoned back off the bar, while Mullin was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty after being upended from behind in the area.
Weak efforts from Tom Davies and Matty Pearson either side of half-time were all Accrington could muster, despite dominating possession. But they continued to press and their big chance to level went begging on 75 minutes as Josh Windass blazed over from underneath the crossbar – Accrington boss John Coleman later called it a chance he “couldn’t miss if he tried”. Morecambe had a second goal chalked off three minutes from the end and comfortably saw out the final minutes to register their first points of the season.
“I’ve played a lot better Morecambe teams than that so it’s disappointing but that’s football, you don’t always get what you deserve. Any Morecambe fan would agree they were outclassed in the first half,” said Coleman.
“It was their cup final and they’ve won – fair play to them.We can’t miss the chances that we did. Sometimes it’s just fate and fate has conspired against us.”