LEAGUE TWO. SATURDAY, 8th FEBRUARY 2025.

There’s not a lot in it at Notts County.

The Derek Adams Bandwagon rolled into Nottingham today in its increasingly desperate search for enough points to keep Morecambe FC in the EFL this season. This was made all the more difficult by the fact that opponents Notts County started today’s game on a run of four wins in their last six games and a single loss at the start of this sequence. They were in the lowest of the automatic promotion positions – third – in League Two and would be looking to consolidate this place against a club only two points above rock-bottom Carlisle United and with twenty-seven fewer points on the board than themselves, who have accumulated fifty so far. One of these was collected in north Lancashire last September, when Notts were lucky to escape from the Mazuma Mobile stadium with a 1-1 draw. In previous meetings with the Shrimps, the record was absolutely even: both clubs have won five and drawn seven in their previous seventeen encounters.

King Derek has gone on record to say that if his players can equal County’s current points total – fifty – they will remain in the EFL this season. In his pre-match interview, he conceded that a point at Meadow Lane would be no bad thing. He added, on a more positive note:

“We have to now look to Notts County on Saturday to see if we can go there and get a victory. We got a draw here in a very entertaining match. They have changed a wee bit. They always play with a back three and with wingbacks. It’s about how can we deal with the threat of Notts County but not only that – how we can get into positions where we are going to create chances and score goals.”

For County, boss Stuart Maynard said the following about Morecambe before the match:

“When you look at their scores, there’s always one goal within it. They’ve probably been a little bit unlucky in a lot of their games that we’ve watched, with big moments not quite going their way. We’re fully prepared, we’re aware of what they bring, and we’ve got to be fully focused. This league’s relentless. You can’t look at league positions at this stage of the season because there’s a lot of factors that determine why teams are where they are. Their performances have been very high, even if the results haven’t always followed.”

Since last time we met, Morecambe Old Boy Daniel Crowley has left Nottingham for Pastures New and today, veteran danger man David McGoldrick did not feature for the hosts. In fact, the team which lined-up for County was almost unrecognisable from the one that scraped a draw in Lancashire earlier in the season. For the visitors, Derek decided that this was the day to replace Harry Burgoyne with Ryan Schofield for his debut in goal for the Shrimps and he also chose Lee Angol to start instead of Marcus Dackers whilst preferring Paul Lewis – for whatever reason – to Tom White in midfield.

It was slightly misty by the side of the River Trent as a thin drizzle shrouded the ground throughout the match. County kicked-off but for the first quarter of an hour or so, found themselves pushed back into their own half more often than not by a Morecambe team which was clearly up for it and looking for a win. Having said that, Nottingham had the earliest chance of the game after only four minutes when Jodi Jones forced the first touch of the ball ever as a Shrimps player as Ryan Schofield did really well to keep his shot out of the net at the cost of a corner kick. Shortly afterwards, Jones – who the away fans were already booing because of his penchant for diving even so early in the game – slung over a cross which an unmarked Alassana Jatta headed narrowly wide when he might have done much better. 

I suspect that Gwion Edwards may have been culpable – for the second time – of dishing-out the sort of treatment he so often receives himself to Jones after about twenty-five minutes. I apologise if I have got this wrong but the Notts Number Ten had to leave the field injured at this point – to very little sympathy from the visiting fans.

As Morecambe pressed, Lee Angol was set free on the left flank to bear down on the home goal with about a quarter of an hour played. If fully fit – or full of confidence – he might have risked a shot on goal. Instead, he chose to pass the ball and a really promising move finally came to nothing. 

In one movement, this summed-up Morecambe’s season: lots of promise but no end result.

Later – with 36 minutes on the clock – Lee did what he should have done earlier and took a shot which hit home custodian Alex Bass‘ right-hand post in the clearest chance of the game so far.

So at half-time, confidence was high. The Shrimps had competed really well for the first forty-five minutes and left the field at the interval having probably just about dominated the play.

But it all went wrong again in the second half. Out of nothing, Notts scored in the sixty-sixth minute. Substitute Will Jarvis slung  over a low cross from the County left. Morecambe goalie Schofield should have gathered it but instead tamely pushed the ball into the path of Charlie Whitaker, who walloped it past him into the net. Later – with about fifteen minutes left – Jatta showed considerable skill in making the game safe for County when he weaved his way brilliantly past defenders and goalkeeper alike to roll the ball into an empty net: it was a tremendous piece of skill.

There’s not a lot more to say. Marcus came within a whisker of scoring his second goal for the Shrimps only to see Alex Bass manage to make a last-ditch save with his foot. But – yet again – Derek Adams’ men never let their heads drop as they struggled to get back into the game right until the final kick. This was yet another contest where there was very little to choose between the two teams. The really disappointing thing about County for me at least was the way their players rolled-about as if pole-axed every time they were fouled. This, plus the baying of the home crowd, certainly influenced Rookie Referee Paul Marsden – roundly jeered by the home crowd at half time and the away supporters at the end – to book no less than five Morecambe players. He only showed one yellow card to anyone from the home side but they committed just as many bad fouls as their opponents this afternoon.

Poor old Derek sounds like a Broken Record this season as he constantly bemoans our inability to finish and habit of giving away needless goals from silly mistakes. Today was no exception: Notts won thanks to a really bad error by debutant stopper Ryan Schofield and a really classy finish by Alassana Jatta after the Shrimps’ defence failed to clear the ball when they could have done. The win saw Notts go up one place to second in League Two this evening.

For Morecambe, though, today could have been much worse. Our own Sam Lavelle scored for Carlisle United at Grimsby to put the New Manager Bounce into Mark Hughes’ latest project and the Cumbrians were winning at half-time. But his predecessor as a Central Defender at Christie Park – Dave Artell – shook his team up to help us by coming from behind to win 2-1. Tranmere also lost again – 2-0 this time at Salford. So it was As You Were in the basement of League Two when the Fat Lady Sang for the final time at Meadow Lane tonight.

As myself and my pals wound our weary way back towards the station and its labyrinthine car-park, several Notts County fans assured us that our team was far better than many who have visited Meadow Lane this season.

Scant consolation but I at least thought that I’ve seen Morecambe EFL teams in the past which were far worse than our current one. So it’s not all Doom and Gloom tonight by any means. And – to bring even more lightness to the mood – Derek Adams had this to say at the end of play:

“I thought we were spot-on today with the application. I think the players have given their all. They‘ve matched Notts County for the full ninety minutes and I am very proud of them. I’m really disappointed we lost the game. But I do see a lot of good signs in this team.”

Notts County: 1 Alex Bass; 2 Kellan Gordon (27 Zak Johnson 82’); 3 Rod McDonald; 4 Jacob Bedeau; 5 Matthew Platt; 10 Jodi Jones (36 Will Jarvis 25’); 16 Charlie Whitaker; 18 Matt Palmer (C); 22 Curtis Edwards (11 Conor Michael Grant 74’); 29 Alassana Jatta (6 Jack Hinchy 82’); 33 George Abbott (Y).

Subs not used:  21 Sam Slocombe; 44 Madou Cisse; 24 Robbie Cundy.

Morecambe:  12 Ryan Schofield; 2 Luke Hendrie (C); 5 Max Taylor (Y); 7 Gwion Edwards; 8 Harvey Macadam; 10 Lee Angol (19 Marcus Dackers 45’); 14 Rhys Williams; 16 Andy Dallas (Y); 17 Paul Lewis (Y); 20 Callum Cooke (Y) (18 Ben Tollitt 69’); 23 David Tutonda (Y).

Subs not used:  1 Harry Burgoyne; 4 Tom White; 6 Jamie Stott; 9 Hallam Hope; 24 Yann Songo’o.

Ref: James Westgate.

Att: 9,909 (200 or so from Morecambe.)