SUPER KEV IS LIKE A FINE WINE
KEVIN Ellison continued to show age is only a number as he helped Morecambe make a mockery of the form guide and record a superb victory at promotion-chasing Wycombe.
After turning 39 on Friday, Ellison scored twice in a stunning first half for the Shrimps, who hadn’t won any of their previous six games and were up against a side who had seven victories from their last eight.
Considering both teams below them in the table also won, the three points were as vital for Morecambe as they were unlikely.
Manager Jim Bentley said: “As an attacking threat, with Aaron Wildig going back into number ten with a slight change in formation, we were really pleased with the way we hunted down and played good football at times.
“There was one goal where Adam McGurk popped it back, [Gregg] Wylde crossed to Kev at the back stick – cracking goal.
“I’m really pleased for Kev. He’s 39 and he’ll always get written off, but he’s just turned in another big 90-minute performance and, on another day, he could have had three.”
Morecambe had an early gift when Nathan McGinley flicked Michael Rose’s long throw away from his own goalkeeper, giving McGurk an empty net to head into.
There was nothing fortunate about the Shrimps’ second goal, however, as veteran Ellison smashed an unstoppable half- volley across Scott Brown into the top corner.
And it got even better for them seven minutes before half-time as Ellison pulled away at the far post to thump in a header from Gregg Wylde’s wonderful cross.
There was no let-up eight minutes after the restart when Wylde was allowed to run down the right wing before cutting inside and placing a shot into the bottom corner to make it 4-0.
Ellison was then denied a hat-trick just before the hour when another fantastic effort from outside the box was tipped over by Brown.
Wycombe finally conjured a response in the 64th minute as Nick Freeman found the net via the post with a daisy-cutter, just a minute after stepping from the bench.
The Chairboys pulled another back late on through a crisp volley from Luke O’Nien but they have now dropped to third. Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth said: “Sometimes, you’re just not good enough on the day. “There isn’t a rhyme or reason to it because you’ve set up with the same team. “We’ve trained the same and you asked them to go out and do the same things. “Sometimes, the other team are better and that’s football. We were rubbish in the first half.”