LEAGUE TWO. SATURDAY, 25th JANUARY 2025.
Red Card changes everything at Colchester.
In their increasingly desperate search for three points, Morecambe travelled to Essex today to visit Colchester United. The Shrimps’ plight in the next-but-bottom place in League Two – five points adrift of the pack – is bad enough but sadly predictable news emerged on Thursday which made their struggle against regulation even more problematic than it was previously. Manager Derek Adams told the media at the end of last Saturday’s nil-one defeat by Crewe that he expected to sign two more players this week to improve the quality of his squad. On Wednesday night, though, Derek was obliged to phone the two players concerned and explain to them that – as funds to pay their wages have not been made available – the moves were off. For more details about this latest twist in the Shrimps’ downward trajectory in recent times, see
The Shrimps Trust responded immediately to the latest bad news. They were very quick to release a transcript of a phone call between Tarnia Elsworth and Jason Whittingham which took place yesterday afternoon (Friday; 24th January 2025). During this exchange, the Chair of the Shrimps Trust asked the owner of our club some very searching questions about his role in the latest fiasco and his further plans for remedying a situation which has come about because of his broken promises to the Morecambe Board and the team’s Manager. The following remark alone sums-up completely his utterly blasé – and wholly unrealistic – attitude towards the potential relegation of the club as a result of his actions:
“Based on the most recent forecast, the club is in good shape for the rest of this season.”
But because of the effective hiatus in the club’s budget, funds the club have in the bank independently of Whittingham and his Bond Group – including the hundreds of thousands of pounds due from the FA Cup run this season alone – will not be available for improving the squad due to this fear of a shortfall in the overall budget. This is entirely due to a ruling from the utterly useless EFL. So Derek effectively will have to make do and mend with the players already on the books. The only positive development in this latest sorry saga is that the King of Morecambe has committed himself to staying with the club until the end of the season at least. Referring to the effect previous broken promises by the owner has had on him, Mr Adams explained:
“I left the last time because of that. This time, I feel I’ve got to get on with it. I’ve probably changed as a person – good or bad, I don’t know. I have to show my commitment to the football club. I’m happy to fight the battle – which it is – to get enough points to stay in the league. My reputation is on the line. But this club has helped me – as a person; as a football manager as well – and I’m going to try my utmost to help through this difficult circumstance – and it’s as difficult as it can be. But we are all going to pull together.”
Opposite Number Danny Cowley has no such worries as the Colchester Manager. His United team were sitting relatively comfortably in fourteenth position in League Two before today’s match and on a run of two wins and two defeats in their last six league games. Their latest outing – last Tuesday – resulted in a 0-0 draw at Harrogate.
Historically, the two clubs have met thirteen times previously, with Colchester winning just two of them to the Shrimps’ four, which has included three wins on the spin at the Colchester Community Stadium. The last time they met – in the reverse fixture during September – Morecambe put their first point of the season on the board in what was their sixth league fixture with a 3-3 draw in a game during which Derek Adams was sent off. As far as today’s clash is concerned, he said:
“We have to go into every game now – as we have done – (knowing) it is really important that we get the three points because we have to close the gap. We have to go to Colchester and really attack them.”
Danny Cowley expressed the following thoughts prior to the game:
“We know, of course, that Morecambe are a really tough team. They have a very, very good away record – one of the best teams in the division in terms of away from home. Derek Adams’ teams are notoriously tough to play against – very well organised; very hard working. We are going to have to be at our very best to get on the right side of the result.”
The weather was sunny with little breeze but very cold in Essex as the game kicked-off. Morecambe started with latest signing Callum Cooke in the first eleven alongside Adam Lewis, who played on the right side of midfield and Lee Angol – who hasn’t played competitively since September due to serious injury – leading the attack. Callum Jones, Marcus Dackers and Ben Tollitt were relegated to the bench.
Not a lot happened in the opening few minutes. Colchester won the first corner of the game after eight minutes and Morecambe had a bit of a let-off when an unmarked Jamie McDonnell headed Jack Payne’s corner tamely wide at the far post. The home team also had the next chance with almost a quarter of an hour played when Payne played a tremendous through ball for Teddy Bishop to run on to but the midfielder’s shot didn’t trouble Harry Burgoyne in the away goal as it went sailing over his crossbar. Immediately, Adam Lewis played in Gwion Edwards for a shot which went into the side netting to mark the Shrimps’ first attempt on goal. Captain Yann Songo’o then took a low shot which home goalkeeper Matthew Ryan Macey wasn’t troubled by.
Luke Hendrie tripped Payne on the edge of the away penalty area after 25 minutes. From the resulting free-kick, the Morecambe wall did its job and the danger passed. Almost immediately, the Shrimps conceded another corner which Harry Anderson headed over the bar. Callum Cooke won a free-kick in a decent position with 34 minutes played and Lewis’ delivery was headed goalwards by Edwards only for the home keeper to grab it at the second attempt. A robust challenge by David Tutonda – who had just been booked for dissent – led to another corner for the U’s after 38 minutes but the visiting defence dealt with it confidently.
In injury time, though, Lee Angol was given a straight red card by weak referee Sam Purkiss for a late challenge which United full-back Ellis Iandolo made a real meal of, clutching his face as if he had been pole-axed as he fell to the ground.
So Morecambe trooped back to the Dressing Rooms knowing that they would have to emulate what they managed to do last year at this venue if they wanted to take all three points: win the game with only ten men in the second half. The bad news was that Angol – in whom so much hope as Morecambe’s potential redeemer since his return from injury has been invested – is looking at a three match ban. The good news was that, so far, Colchester had not managed to force Harry Burgoyne into even a single save.
Predictably, the home team took full advantage of their superiority in numbers at the start of the second half and were camped in the visitors’ half for the opening few minutes. Burgoyne flapped at a cross after 54 minutes and was lucky to see the ball cleared by his defence before the lurking Tyreece Simpson was able to get to it. In a rare foray into the U’s territory, Cooke then walloped a shot for the Shrimps way over the crossbar with just over an hour on the clock. Gwion then also missed after a fine run which he spoiled with a wild shot after 63 minutes. Two minutes later, though, Colchester finally took the lead. Mandela Egbo’s shot took a wicked deflection off the chest of Rhys Williams and left Harry flat-footed as the ball went past him into the back of the net. Lewis was fouled shortly afterwards and took the free-kick himself, forcing a routine save from Macey with a shot from about 35 yards. Then Owura Edwards took a shot for the U’s which was straight at the visiting goalkeeper. Gwion Edwards then got the ball in the net for the Shrimps with 75 minutes played only to have it disallowed for off-side.
Derek made wholesale changes in the seventy-eighth minute with Harvey Macadam, Marcus Dackers, Jordan Slew and Ben Tollitt replacing Tom White, Gwion Edwards, Adam Lewis and Callum Cooke. It made little difference and the Morecambe Manager was booked for something he said to the Fourth Official in injury time. Just after this, Jordan Slew took a tremendous shot from a long way out which only just missed the target. But it was too little, too late.
So the game ended with Morecambe’s eighth one-nil defeat of the season. Once again, there was little to choose between the two teams and there is no doubt that the key moment in the match arrived when the referee chose to dismiss Lee Angol just before half time. News from elsewhere didn’t help the Shrimps’ predicament this evening. Carlisle won 1-2 at Fleetwood with Sam Lavelle scoring the winner to move above them into second from the bottom of the EFL. Tranmere drew against Gillingham on Merseyside but Accrington Stanley also managed to win away from home: nil-one at high-flying Crewe. Last night, Swindon beat Newport County 1-2 in Wales and seem to be escaping from the relegation pack as the Welsh team fall into further trouble. Morecambe are now six points adrift of both County and Tranmere right at the bottom of the entire football league. Today, after a really torrid week even by recent Shrimps’ standards, things could have barely gone any worse for Derek Adams’ beleaguered side. This is what he said after the match:
“It was difficult because we’ve looked at the footage and it’s not a sending off. It’s a player going for the ball and the referee has chosen to sent him off. It wasn’t the linesman; it was the referee. Sam Purkiss was the referee here the last time that we both met and he sent off James Connolly in the first half as well. It’s been a really difficult week for us. We didn’t need the sending-off in the first half because we were in the game. We had better opportunities than Colchester in the second half and they got very fortunate with the goal they got. It will be interesting to see what the referee gives it for. It’s him that’s given it. That’s the interesting point. We’ve seen it back on the video and there is nothing there to suggest there is a sending-off in it.”
Colchester United: 1 Matthew Ryan Macey; 3 Ellis Iandolo; 4 Fiacre Kelleher (33 Lyle Taylor (Y) 55’); 6 Tom Flanaghan (C); 7 Harry Anderson (31 Oscar Thorn (Y) 55’); 8 Edward Bishop (Y); 10 Jack Payne; 15 Jamie McDonnell; 17 Tyreece Simpson (22 Jack Tucker 73’); 18 Mandela Egbo; 21 Owura Edwards.
Subs not used: 12 Tom Smith; 11 John-Kymani Gordon; 16 Arthur Read; 40 Frankie Terry.
Morecambe: 1 Harry Burgoyne; 2 Luke Hendrie (Y); 3 Adam Lewis (11 Jordan Slew 78’); 4 Tom White (8 Harvey Macadam 77’); 6 Jamie Stott; 7 Gwion Edwards (19 Marcus Dackers 78’); 10 Lee Angol (R); 14 Rhys Williams; 20 Callum Cooke (18 Ben Tollitt 78’); 23 David Tutonda (Y); 24 Yann Songo’o (C) (28 Callum Jones 78’).
Subs not used: 12 Ryan Schofield; 5 Max Taylor.
Ref: Sam Purkiss.
Att: 4,238 (89 from Morecambe).
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