LEAGUE TWO. SATURDAY, 26th OCTOBER 2024.
Chesterfield keep up their unbeaten run at Morecambe.
It is no less than six years since Morecambe and Chesterfield last met in an EFL fixture. In that time, the Spire-ites have played at their new state-of-the-art stadium in the National League in front of much bigger crowds than have attended either the Mazuma Mobile Stadium or Christie Park. Yet – even with far superior resources – the club from Derbyshire have really struggled to escape from the non-league wilderness once they slipped into it during 2018. The fact that today’ opposition is a potentially big player with a large fan base even in its geographical position adjacent to Sheffield and its two EFL clubs has been shown again by their home gates so far this season. The lowest crowd they have had is almost seven and a half thousand people; the largest over ten thousand for the visit of Notts County just two weeks ago. No wonder they were able to poach Liam Mandeville from us when were an established EFL club and they were outside the Football League altogether…
In the past, the two clubs have met fifteen times altogether. The first time this happened was in 2002, when the Shrimps were a non-league team and Chesterfield an established member of the Football League. In an FA Cup game at Saltergate, however, Morecambe were victorious by two goals to one – a real shock at the time. Since then, they have met fourteen more times in League Two. The Spire-ites have only won only two of these; Morecambe have won six.
The team managed by experienced old stager Paul Cook arrived on the north-west coast of Lancashire today in ninth place in the division. They have not lost any of their last six league games but have won just two of these. Morecambe, by contrast, have lost three of their last six League Two games and won only one of them. They started today’s game in a fairly familiar position in recent times: rock bottom of the entire EFL.
If only for the discrepancy in resources and fanbase already mentioned, it would surely be harder for our club to rebound from relegation at any time in the foreseeable future than has been the case for today’s opponents – assuming, of course, that we are able to survive loss of EFL status at all. So this was the harsh reality facing the Shrimps today: to accumulate enough points with a small, injury-depleted squad to avoid a fate potentially worse than death itself: the literal disappearance of the club off the face of the earth as certain individuals sell-off its scant assets for their own personal gain. Could this still happen or will the person I have in mind who might profit from this situation actually be out of the picture by the end of the season? Here is the latest from the Shrimps Trust for those of you who still haven’t joined:
“The Shrimps Trust received the following update from Jason Whittingham of Bond Group today (23 October):
“The sale is still progressing albeit slowly. Whilst I appreciate this is frustrating for everyone, myself included, we are making every effort to bring the acquisition to completion.
“There were 2 meetings with the EFL last week and they clarified what was now required from the Buyer in order to ensure we can move to completion. The Buyer is in the process of finalising the requirements and working with the Club and me as Seller.””
They add:
“To date, we have only received a handful of suggestions and comments from members. If you are a member and want your view form part of our discussion, then please email us on hello@shrimpstrust.co.uk.
If you are a non-member, please join us using this link:
or email us with your intention to join along with your views to the same email address.”
So if you have any good ideas to alleviate the situation the club now finds itself in – don’t be shy. Don’t stand on the sidelines and whinge – as so many self-styled `supporters’ do regularly on social media – do something practical and positive instead! We can avoid the nightmare scenario outlined above – but only if we all pull in the same direction.
Returning to our on-field problems; opponents Chesterfield and today’s game, this is what Morecambe Manager Derek Adams said about it earlier this week:
“If you look at the attacking options, we’ve got five players who all play in an attacking area all out injured at this moment at time. That leaves you short when you’ve got a small squad. It’s always going to catch up with you in that aspect. In my managerial career, I haven’t spent a hundred thousand in transfer fees. Somebody getting their first job spends that in the first minute. It doesn’t mean that if you have the biggest budget, you’re going to do the best. I’ve worked with the smallest budget in the league and got promoted. From my point of view, we would all like to have the biggest budget in the league. We haven’t. We’re coming up against Chesterfield who have one of the biggest. They’ve got one of the best squads in the league. Paul Cook quite rightly could tell me they have the best squad in the league and I couldn’t disagree with him. That’s the situation that we’re going in week in, week out at this moment in time. The parameters are so different from what they were.”
Paul Cook – the man in charge of perhaps the best squad in the league – had this to say prior to the match:
“I think we’re doing well, we’re seven games unbeaten. Yes, we’d like to win more games than we have but it’s all about building and continuing to go in the right direction, which I feel we are. I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow. Morecambe are a great side; they’ll be able to cause us problems – no doubt about it. However, as I always say, I’ll be focusing on how we can hurt them.”
Football and all it means – the highs and the lows – was put into proper focus this afternoon as both sets of supporters impeccably respected a two-minute silence to remember all of our family and friends who have given their lives in really grim contests which were far more deadly than mere soccer matches.
Incongruously, it was a beautiful, clear sunny day by the side of the sea today in north Lancashire. Because this match was being beamed live by a satellite broadcaster whom the home fans have told us repeatedly might not be quite as good as they would like you to believe, it kicked-off early: half past midday.
Given the distance involved and the fact that they could have stayed at home and watched it on the telly, Spire-ites supporters did their club proud today – almost a thousand of them turned-up to watch this festival of goals.
This was a really good game to watch from beginning to end this afternoon. Both teams went for it and the cheating, diving and time-wasting that modern football almost inevitably involves was nowhere to be seen throughout the match. The visitors drew the first blood after just five minutes when a speculative shot from Dilan Markanday took a wicked deflection off Tom White and found the back of the net as home stopper Stuart Moore was unable to do anything about it. This was after just eight minutes. But three minutes later, the hosts were level. The visitors conceded a free-kick, the outstanding Adam Lewis took it and Ben Tollitt was in the right place at the right time to beat Max Thompson in the away goal – and silence their massed ranks of supporters – however temporarily – behind him.
King Derek had clearly told his charges to play a high line today and for the entire forty-seven minutes, they pinned the visitors back into their own half more often than not and ensured that Thompson was by far the busiest goalkeeper on the field: at half time, Stuart had not been further troubled by the Spire-ites. The only possible claim for another goal for the visitors came after twenty minutes when there may have been a hand-ball in the home penalty area by a man in a red shirt as the Shrimps struggled to clear their lines following a corner. But the erratic Man In The Middle – Tom Reeves – gave nothing.
At the other end, White’s powerful shot after 24 minutes was deflected over the bar for a corner. Ten minutes later, as the away defence struggled to clear their lines from another set-piece, David Tutonda shot through a forest of legs and narrowly missed. A couple of minutes after that – with almost forty minutes played – Marcus Dackers got away from the Spire-ites’ back line on the Morecambe right but his shot from a narrow angle went into the side netting. Marcus then attempted a volley from a corner in injury time at the end of the first period which was deflected wide. So Derek Adams’ men came in at the break level but having asked more of the questions than Paul Cook’s team had.
But Chesterfield pulled further ahead once the second half began when referee Tom Reeves not only awarded them a doubtful free-kick to the left of the Morecambe penalty area from the away side’s point of view but used his magic sprayer to assure that the home wall was forced to retreat well over ten yards from where the offence was judged to have happened. Darren Oldaker took full advantage with a superb low shot which beat Moore to his left.
With an hour played, though, the Shrimps were deservedly level again. After some clever link-up play on their left, Adam Lewis sent in an instant low cross which – in his eagerness to clear it – Chesterfield’s Skipper Tom Naylor only managed to deflect past his own goalkeeper.
So the scene was set – the third goal would win the game, surely.
When it arrived – with 74 minutes on the clock – it went to the visitors and it was a really good strike. James Berry received the ball on the left edge of the home penalty area from his point of view. He sold a couple of dummies before picking-out a spot way to the left of Moore’s despairing dive with a superlative low shot.
Four minutes later, away stopper Thompson did brilliantly to dive to his left to deny Callum Jones’ tremendous strike. But Chesterfield went further ahead with goals from Debra and a headed goal by substitute Jamie Grimes in injury time. It was a bit harsh – Chesterfield are a good team but they weren’t really three goals better than the Shrimps today.
Armchair supporters who only ever watch football on television were treated to a classic this afternoon: seven goals; lots of intelligent, progressive play from what are effectively Fourth Division teams. The Record Books will record this result as what appears to be a drubbing. But it wasn’t. Until the decisive third goal was scored, this game could have gone either way. After that, Chesterfield drew away and the result could actually have been even worse: in injury time at the end of the game, an audacious lob from a long way out by Berry beat Stuart Moore all ends up and bounced back off his bar as the Shrimps’ goalkeeper floundered in the air trying to reach it.
The latest loss sees Morecambe obviously still right at the bottom of League Two tonight. I think our faint hope of survival in the Football League this season rests on the possibility that at least two other clubs are worse than we are. Later results saw nearest rival for the drop – Carlisle – lose as well; 0-1 at home against Cheltenham. Struggling Swindon Town, meanwhile, clung on to a single point with ten men for most of the game following an equaliser in the 93rd minute at home to Gillingham, where the final score was 1-1. Carlisle therefore remain just a single point above us; the club from Wiltshire are five points better off. Plenty of other clubs are still catchable too. So if the Shrimps continue to play with the commitment and skill they displayed today, they are not yet a lost cause.
So what did King Derek think about it? He was booked – yet again – in the second half and he really needs to be smarter and Button It: referees compare notes and speak to each other and our Manager – who never swears – is clearly often judged and damned by them on past form rather than offences he may have committed on the day. The King has been increasingly – and uncharacteristically – critical of individual players in recent times. This theme continued today:
“I thought we were very good today. But we are making so many individual errors, it’s frightening – and it’s killing us. Tactically, we were excellent. The way we pass the ball from a point of view of pressing; the way the chances we create… Unfortunately, we just don’t have that quality at this moment in time to get us further ahead in the game. We had sixteen attempts to their nine attempts today. That tells you how well we have played in the game. We’ve got to be better in that final third. We just have to be better at these big moments. If you look at the game, we have gone toe-to-toe with Chesterfield. But, as I keep on saying, it’s moments in games that go either way and at this moment in time, the big moments are not going for us. But we’ve got to do better in front of goal. Not only that, we’ve got to do better defensively because the errors are costing us. It’s not like teams are passing through us. It’s not like teams are killing us. They are killing us by individual errors at this moment in time.”
Morecambe: 25 Stuart Moore; 2 Luke Hendrie; 3 Adam Lewis; 4 Tom White (Y); 6 Jamie Stott (C) (Y); 8 Harvey Macadam (C); 14 Rhys Williams; 18 Ben Tollitt; 19 Marcus Dackers (Y); 23 David Tutonda; 28 Callum Jones (7 Gwion Edwards (Y) 79’).
Subs not used: 1 Harry Burgoyne; 5 Max Taylor; 9 Hallam Hope; 12 Kayden Harrack; 20 Charlie Brown; 22 Ross Millen.
Chesterfield: 1 Max Thompson; 4 Tom Naylor (C); 6 Harvey Araujo (5 Jamie Grimes 45’); 7 Liam Mandeville; 8 Darren Oldaker; 11 Ryan Colclough (18 James Berry-McNally 65’); 19 Lewis Gordon; 20 Vontae Daley-Campbell (17 Armando Dobra 45’); 24 Dilan Markanday (28 Ollie Banks 80’); 26 Jenson Metcalfe (Y); 33 Paddy Madden (9 Will Grigg 65’).
Subs not used: 10 Michael Jacobs; 37 Ashton Rinaldo.
Ref: Tom Reeves.
Att: 3,666 (960 from Chesterfield.)
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