LEAGUE TWO. TUESDAY, 22nd OCTOBER 2024.

Morecambe well and truly Wombled by AFC Wimbledon.

The EFL Fixture robot has thrown-up two games against clubs known as `Dons’ for Morecambe in rapid succession. Last Saturday, they were well beaten at home by the self-styled Dons of Milton Keynes. Tonight, however, they travelled to London to be welcomed by the authentic and only true Dons of the football world: AFC Wimbledon.

The Wombles started this evening’s match in eleventh place in League Two but having played either two or even three games fewer than everyone else because of the catastrophic flooding of their stadium just before midnight on Sunday, 22^nd September. The new Cherry Red Records Stadium on Plough Lane is built on the site of the old Wimbledon Greyhound and speedway track, which was prone to be swamped by the culverted River Wandle whenever there was heavy rainfall in the vicinity. The club do not know how much the damage the flood has caused them will finally cost but a conservative estimate suggests that the repair to the pitch alone – a large area of which was basically washed away – will be at least a million pounds.

The Dons have won three of their last six league games and lost two, most recently at Notts County by the only goal of the game last Saturday. In previous tussles with Morecambe, they have met fourteen times altogether, both clubs winning five of these. This is what their Head Coach Johnny Jackson said yesterday about tonight’s game:

“It’s a big game tomorrow night. They are a steady team. They’ve had some good performances of late. They are very physical. They are a real good size – good from set plays. We have to take them seriously for sure.”

Morecambe arrived in south-west London right at the bottom of League Two, having lost last Saturday to the club which once stole tonight’s opponents’ very identity twenty years ago. The Shrimps have drawn three and won just one of their last six games. Manager Derek Adams said the following the day before his men faced their latest test against the Wombles tonight:

“When we look at the games we’ve played, we’ve been very competitive. We’ve probably lacked that killer instinct in taking that opportunity when it’s come along because we’ve had big opportunities in games and haven’t been able to take advantage of them at that time. You always know the opposition will get an opportunity. From a physical and performance point of view, we’re getting better all the time. I thought we (have) performed well at times. We’ll need to do exactly the same come Tuesday night. Wimbledon have had a very good start to the season, they’ve picked up a lot of good points already. We go there after Saturday looking to try and win the game as we did when we went away to Barrow last time away from home. Performance-wise, we’ve done really well. Saturday was difficult for a spell in the game where MK Dons were very good – probably the best side we have come up against so far this season in a lot of aspects.”

I wrote the following in my Totally Unofficial Preview of the season earlier this year:

Until last season, it was possible to pay the club a tenner and watch any away game played mid-week live via i-Follow.  But not any more. The EFL – in its eternal quest for ever more filthy lucre to fill its already vastly inflated coffers – has signed an exclusive deal with Sky to provide the live coverage once carried by i-Follow. Naturally, the EFL polishes-up this typically self-interested deal as progress for everyone concerned, suggesting it is `establishing the League as a “premium partner” with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports and giving supporters unparalleled access to more EFL action than ever before.’

What it fails to mention is that for punters like myself – who have no interest in watching any of the other matches the satellite broadcaster entitle purchasers of a `Day Pass’ to see – the cost has gone up a staggering 49.9%. The ability to live-stream any Morecambe game has increased from ten quid to £14.99. Progress? Not for the fans in my view. But when have we ever mattered in an industry where Cash is King?

Like most Shrimps; fans, I’m not in a position to travel the best part of 600 miles – half of them in the dead of night – to witness tonight’s game live in person. I don’t have Sky TV. I don’t want Sky TV. Last season, I could go on the Morecambe club website and buy myself a match pass to see tonight’s game live – and the club would benefit from a proportion of the fee I would have paid to do so. But all the website is now offering is an audio pass. So I – among countless others – actually can’t see the game live tonight.

I’d like to ask the EFL  the following question.  In what way is this actually `progress’ for ordinary fans like me? But any such request would – of course – fall on deaf ears. All the EFL has ever been concerned with is money…

Anyway, the weather was dry and it wasn’t too cold as the game kicked-off under the floodlights on Plough Lane.

The hosts made most of the running during the opening moments and forced three corners which came to nothing in rapid succession within the first seven minutes. James Tilley had a shot at goal following one of these but his effort was way off target. The Dons then forced a tremendous save from Stuart Moore in the away goal at the cost of another corner with almost a quarter of an hour played. The corner count to the Wombles continued to mount as the game grew older and the Shrimps offered absolutely nothing going forward. The home team had amassed seven before Morecambe first got into the opposition half and threatened the home goal after 21 minutes. Adam Lewis played a fine pass forward to David Tutonda, who made good progress and slung over a lovely cross into the danger area which Marcus Dackers could not connect with even at full stretch despite his best efforts.

Matty Stevens wasted a golden opportunity to open the scoring for the home team with half an hour played when he headed a perfect cross from Myles Hippolyte on the Wimbledon left straight at Moore when he was unmarked and only about six yards from the target. Adam Lewis and Rhys Williams both used their long throws to try and unsettle the Dons’ defence after this but the hosts dealt with both without too much trouble.  The Wombles then attacked through the middle with 36 minutes on the clock as Josh Neufville fed Hippolyte, who again forced the visiting goalkeeper to concede yet another corner to the Wombles. Stevens missed another decent half-chance with about three minutes to play in the half and then Tilley made it nine corners to nil so far with a shot which Stuart turned round the post with his legs as the seconds ticked-down towards the half-time break.  In injury time, following a long throw by the hosts, Stevens made it a trio of bad misses when he again missed the target following a flick-on from a Dons’ long throw. This time, he was only three – or perhaps as little as two – yards out.

The hosts had the first chance of the second half as the visiting goalkeeper needed Tutonda’s help to deal with a ball which was heading goalwards early doors. Then Adam Lewis tried his luck from distance with one of his long-range volleys a couple of minutes later: it was cleared by the Dons’ defence for a throw. With six minutes played, however, Wimbledon took the lead. And what a goal it was! Tilley picked-up the ball on the half-way line, was allowed to make progress forwards without any attempt by the men in the red shirts to close him down to a position from which he was able to unleash an unstoppable rocket of a shot right up into the top corner of the net which left Stuart Moore clawing at thin air.

Morecambe won their first corner of the night after an hour. As Owen Goodman flapped at it, the Wombles’ rearguard managed to bundle the ball away. Then Moore conceded yet another corner following a further good save, this time from Callum Maycock with just over 60 minutes on the clock. Immediately afterwards, Maycock set-up Hippolyte for a clear run on goal but the man in the blue shirt fluffed his lines with a poor shot which Stuart was again able to block with his legs: Stevens again failed to profit from the rebound. But Maycock then marauded down the touch-line and picked-out Omar Bugiel with a superb cross from a ball which seemed to be going out of play after 66 minutes. The Wimbledon Number Nine made no mistake with a simple tap-in past a helpless visiting keeper. Moore then kept the Shrimps in the game with another good save with 68 minutes played – or did Yann Songo’o head it off the line? But it got even worse for the visitors as Stevens finally found his shooting boots in the seventieth minute, scoring with a well-placed shot after Neufville had played him in.

Hallam Hope had an immediate chance to equalise but home stopper Goodman pulled off a really good save to keep him out with 72 minutes played but a late flag showed that Hallam was offside in any case. There followed lots of substitutions by both Managers and one of them – old Shrimps’ favourite Joe Piggott – sliced the ball over the away bar when well placed with just three minutes left to play. Perhaps he took pity on us. Morecambe sub Ross Millen then tried his luck with a piledriver from distance which sailed over the bar in the dying embers of the game. Callum Jones took a free kick which Millen again met with a towering header which finally forced a really good save from Goodman during injury time but that was as good as it got for the visitors this evening…

Nobody could say that King Derek’s men didn’t try tonight. Up against a good team, though, they were again simply found wanting. They remain rock bottom of the EFL as a result. But Carlisle and Swindon town – one and four points respectively above us in the League Two table – also lost; United 3-1 at Walsall and Town 2-1 at Salford. So all is not yet lost. This is what Derek Adams had to say after his side’s collapse during the second half this evening:

“I thought in the first half, we were very competitive. We stopped Wimbledon playing. We dealt really well with their set-plays. Up until their goal, it looked like an even contest. Second half, we went to two up-front and it didn’t really help us, which is disappointing. Wimbledon did better than us in the big moments. We’re trying our best. The table is so tight and a few wins along the way which we need; we understand that – but we have to be better in the big moments.”

We finish with one final message for tonight’s hosts:

Good luck to the Wombles against the frauds who once stole their identity in the FA Cup!

AFC Wimbledon: 1 Owen Goodman; 6 Ryan Johnson (C); 7 James Tilley; 8 Callum Maycock; 9 Omar Bugiel (39 Joe Piggott 83’); 11 Josh Neufville; 12 Alistair Smith; 14 Matthew Stevens (10 Josh Kelly 83’); 16 James Ball (C); 21 Myles Hippolyte; 31 Joe Lewis (Y) (33 Isaac Ogundere 72’).

Subs not used: 22 Lewis Moore Ward; 2 Huseyin Biler; 3 James Furlong; 5 John-Joe O’Toole. 

Morecambe: 25 Stuart Moore; 2 Luke Hendrie (Y); 3 Adam Lewis (20 Charlie Brown 71’); 6 Jamie Stott (C); 12 Kayden Harrack (5 Max Taylor 78’); 14 Rhys Williams  (Ross Millen 78’); 18 Ben Tollitt (9 Hallam Hope 59’); 19 Marcus Dackers; 23 David Tutonda; 24 Yann Songo’o (4 Tom White 71’); 28 Callum Jones.

Subs not used: 1 Harry Burgoyne; 8 Harvey Macadam; 22.

Ref: Matthew Russell.

Att: 6,751 (121 heroes from Morecambe.)