LEAGUE TWO. SATURDAY, 28th SEPTEMBER 2024.

Lack of Goal Line Technology saves Notts County.

Morecambe welcomed Notts County to the Mazuma Mobile Arena today hoping to record their first three points of the season. Rooted right at the bottom of the entire Football League, the Shrimps have only two points to show for their seven games so far. These points have been won the hard way though: 1-3 down against Colchester last time at home but battling back to 3-3 with only ten men. Last Tuesday, they looked dead and buried at Fleetwood at half time – two-nil down and being run ragged at times. But Derek Adams shook things up at the break and his men came battling back to draw the game 2-2. If they play like that today, they will give the high-flying Magpies a run for their money. But if they play like they did in the first half at Highbury, well…

County arrived in fourth place in League Two on the back of four straight wins interrupted by a home defeat against Gillingham last time out. In the past, the two clubs enjoy an absolutely even league record against each other: sixteen matches played; five won by both of them.

King Derek has been tight-lipped since his sending-off against Colchester two weeks ago. Having been forced to sit in the stands close to the end of the first half, he had to watch the game at Fleetwood away from the touchline as well. Additionally, he is now five hundred pounds worse off after being fined by the FA after exchanging words with the Fourth Official last time the Shrimps were at home.  So what action has the FA taken against Referee Geoff Eltringham – whose performance on the day was absolutely unacceptably bad – in the meantime? Predictably – absolutely none. If anything really brings the game into disrepute in this country, officials like Mr Eltringham and his erratic, incompetent but above all autocratic behaviour on the football field does. But nothing ever happens to correct the excesses and the obvious failings of bunglers like these – or even their sometimes blindly obvious bias. It’s a scandalous situation which the FA – typically – does absolutely nothing to address. But – as ever – they are a law unto themselves – who’s going to stop them?

Anyway – Mr Adams shared these thoughts about Notts County prior to the match:

“They are an excellent outfit. I’ve had three of their players before: Dan Crowley, Jacob Bedeau and Alex Bass. They’re at the top end of the table because they’ve been playing well. From my point of view, I thought they deserved to win against Gillingham the other day: they had the better opportunities and they passed the ball very well. They have a mixture, which is good for them – a couple of younger ones in that team as well. We all know how well Jacob did here; how well Dan did – he was outstanding for us and he’s gone there and done really well.”

The King said that he would have an almost full squad to pick from with only Gwion Edwards and George Ray still on the sidelines and all suspensions served. Rhys Williams, however, was not in the squad so it would appear he has picked-up an injury in the last little while.

For the opposition, Head Coach Stuart Maynard had this to say about today’s hosts:

“I think they’re not far away from their first win when you look at their level of performance. I believe that there’s been big moments in certain games that have gone against them. Every game we go into we prepare in exactly the same way. We show the same respect to every team whether we’re preparing for Gillingham that were second in the league to Morecambe who are down the bottom end of the league. Every game has the same detail and the same focus. We believe that anyone within this division can beat anyone. So there are no easy games. “

It was a strange day on the north Lancashire coast today: bright at times but lots of showers too even in the sunshine. So the game started in a rain squall but was dry some of the time following that.

Well – I said that if Morecambe started the game the way they finished against Fleeetwood, County would be in for a torrid time. And so it proved. Derek changed his usual choice formation – one forward playing alone up-front – and paired Lee Angol and Marcus Dackers to lead the attack. At the back, full-backs David Tutonda and Ross Millen backed-up new Captain Jamie Stott at Centre Half and deserved official Man of the Match Adam Lewis was shoved into midfield. He had a brief to keep an eye on Dan Crowley and create chances by his own dynamism. He did brilliantly well, for instance, to slide in and dispossess Morecambe’s former midfield Maestro, take the ball forward and have a shot on goal which was just off-target with 26 minutes on the clock.

For the opening few minutes, the visitors seemed to not know what had hit them. Morecambe pinched the ball from kick-off and took the game straight to Notts, winning a corner within a minute and then scoring from it. Lewis took the spot-kick and Angol managed to bundle the ball over the line whilst the away defence seemed still to be sorting themselves out. Stuart Moore made a routine save from George Abbott almost as soon as Morecambe had taken the lead but the game was fairly even with David Tutonda anticipating brilliantly to slide in and block Conor Michael Grant’s effort on goal after eighteen minutes. Then Lewis forced Alex Bass in the Notts goal to push his shot away for a corner after a free-kick a minute or so later. With just over half an hour gone, Angol could be seen lying on his back in the away penalty area and that was the end of his afternoon. Jordan Slew came on to replace him but I personally think that some of the dynamism with which County were struggling at times to deal with was lost with his exit. Whatever, the half ended as it has started: with the Shrimps on the attack. They won a free-kick which Callum Jones hit through the Magpies’ wall only for Bass to field the ball well on his goal-line.

The impressive Crowley missed with a shot from a long way out after 50 minutes which went well wide to mark the second chance for either side in the second half. (The first had been when a Dackers’ attempt was deflected for a corner three minutes earlier.) A section of the home crowd jeered Dan every time he was on the ball – but they were silent every time Jacob Bedeau got it. Why? Both players left in similar circumstances and I fail to see why Crowley should be singled-out to be the butt of their displeasure. All I would add is that he didn’t do himself any favours with his reaction towards the home crowd when County finally equalised. He let himself down at that point. And this point was reached with only ten minutes of the game still scheduled to play. The visitors had enjoyed a spell of possession and seemed to be getting on top after their Head Coach made a number of changes later on in the game. Our goalkeeper made a simply phenomenal save after 66 minutes when Matthew Platt played-in Abbott for what seemed a certain goal. Four minutes later, Stu made a routine save from Old Stager David McGoldrick, who had a very effective game for the visitors this afternoon. As it looked increasingly likely that the visitors were going to get back into the game, Dan the Man was instrumental again in setting-up a really excellent move which ended with Platt putting the ball in the net after 79 minutes. This was a trademark of Notts’ game this afternoon – they passed the ball quickly and accurately and tended to keep it on the deck. They are a quality team. But they were lucky to escape with a point today.

I realise that this season’s match reports are in danger of becoming a diatribe against referees and how universally useless they are. But – once more – there was controversy to finish this game and yet again, the Man in the Middle was at the centre of it.

First of all, Lewis slung over a cross which Stott headed past Bass in the first minute of Extra Time. From where I was sitting, the ball was clearly over the line – well over the line – before McGoldrick booted it clear. There is Goal Line Technology higher up the EFL where an alarm goes off in a watch-like thing on the Ref’s wrist if a goal has been scored. James Westgate doesn’t have one of these. He just has his own eyes and those of his linesmen to help him. And he chose not to allow it. He may be right – I haven’t had the privilege of a video replay, which could be inconclusive in any case. But I was far from being the only person in the stadium who thought that Morecambe were robbed by this decision. Jayden Harrack was one of these people. When he clearly said that the ball was over the line to the Ref, Mr Wakefield booked him. And then set him off. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the official’s original decision, this reaction was completely over the top. To be fair, the man in black had already booked County substitute Macari for back-chat. Earlier, though, Platt had abused him far more aggressively and for far longer when he dissented from a free-kick awarded against his team. So where was the yellow card then? Yet again – there is no consistency and my fear is that – yet again this season – Morecambe were effectively denied a couple of oh-so-precious points by yet another big blunder by the man with the whistle.

Accrington were unable to play today because their hosts – poor old AFC Wimbledon – have suffered yet another catastrophe with the collapse of their pitch due to a flood on Plough Lane. So the single point was enough to propel the Shrimps off the bottom of the table on goal difference to twenty-third place in League Two. Notts, meanwhile, remain in fourth position in the table.

Given his recent ban and fine by the FA, Derek Adams would have to pick his words even more carefully than usual in his post-match interview with the media. This is what the King said:

“I thought we were excellent today. I think from the start of the game, we pressed Notts County all over the pitch. The reason for that? I felt that no team had put any pressure on them this season. When we went man-for-man with them all over the pitch, it caused them a lot of trouble. Once we pressed them, they didn’t like it. Their back three have had time and space to play on the ball for the whole season – and won games because of that. But when teams go up against them, then they find it difficult to find Plan B. And that was the case today.”

“Unfortunately, Lee picks-up an injury. That does change the flow of the game because I thought he was having an excellent game up to then. We do believe – the players tell us – that it was a goal to make it two-one for us. They believe that the ball was over the line. I’ve been in to see the Assistant Referee. He said he didn’t see if it was over the line or not – television footage will tell us either way. The Notts County players have told our players that they thought it was over the line. Our players who were on the scene think it’s over the line. Until we see it, we can’t declare if it was or not. The Assistant Referee hasn’t seen it so he can’t give it. That’s what happening with us this season – a lot of refereeing decisions haven’t gone for us and that has hampered our progress. From a performance point of view, I thought we were excellent. We deserved to win the game, I believe.”

Morecambe: 25 Stuart Moore; 2 Hendrie; 3 Adam Lewis (Y); 6 Jamie Stott (C); 10 Lee Angol (11 Jordan Slew 34’); 12 Kayden Harrack (Y&Y=R) ; 18 Ben Tollitt (5 Max Taylor 73’); 19 Marcus Dackers; 22 Ross Millen (17 Paul Lewis 60’); 23 David Tutonda; 28 Callum Jones.

Subs not used: 1 Harry Burgoyne; 8 Harvey Macadam; 9 Hallam Hope; 24 Yann Songo’o.

Notts County: 1 Alex Bass; 4 Jacob Bedeau; 5 Matthew Platt; 7 Daniel Crowley; 8 Sam Austin; 11 Conor Michael Grant (14 Jevani Brown 76’); 17 David McGoldrick; 18 Matt Palmer (C) (20 S Robertson 76’); 24 Robbie Cundy (28 Lewis Macari (Y) 60’); 25 Nick Tsaroulla; 33 George Abbott.

Subs not used:  21 Sam Slocombe; 6 Jack Hinchy; 23 Adam Chicksen.

Ref: James Westgate.

Att: 3,595 (916 from Nottingham.)