LEAGUE TWO. GOOD FRIDAY, 18th APRIL 2025.

Good Friday? Really BAD Friday for Morecambe…

In what will prove to be Morecambe’s penultimate away game in the Football League, Derek Adams and his team travelled all the way to Kent to visit Hayes Lane in Bromley today. Here, two clubs going in very different directions – the hosts a National League outfit last season; the visitors bound for the same outer circle of Hell next – would meet for only the second time ever. Ten years ago to the day, the Ravens beat Weston-super-Mare 3-0 at Hayes Lane to become Champions of Conference South. Unlike today’s visitors – for whom the recent few years have all been in reverse gear – it has been steady progress for the Kent club ever since. Last December, they won far too easily – 0-2 – at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium. After this defeat, the Morecambe boss came out with a statement that could apply to virtually any game in his side’s disastrous season:

“We were the better team to start with and then give them a goal out of nothing. We’ve done that so many times this season. Another goalkeeping error today. That has been the story of our season: we’ve had so many goalkeeping errors. Then we make an error for a penalty kick as well. So we give them two goals on the day. We haven’t had any chances on target today. So that’s a huge problem in itself. The quality hasn’t been there because we haven’t done well enough defensively and we haven’t done well enough offensively.“

Bromley started this afternoon’s game in comfortable fourteenth position in the League Two table. Their recent form has been poor, though: just one win in their last six league matches but three defeats, most recently last Saturday when they were taken to the cleaners at leaders Port Vale, who hammered them by five goals to nil. Morecambe, by contrast, started the game in rock bottom position in the entire EFL on a run of form which includes two wins but three losses in their last six league games. The most significant of these – which effectively sealed their fate this season – was last Saturday at home against another struggling side in the shape of Carlisle United. In a truly gutless and shapeless display against a poor team, the Shrimps crumbled to a nil-two defeat. So – including their second half capitulation at Grimsby the previous week, the Shrimps have played kick and rush hoofball; conceded four goals and scored none in the last 135 minutes on the field. They started this afternoon’s match on the back of their worst away record of all time in the football league: 21 games played; just four won; fifteen lost with fourteen goals scored but 31 conceded. This year alone, they have played eight times away from home – and lost all of them. The last time they actually won anywhere other than the Maz was on Boxing Day last year – eleven away games ago – at Carlisle, who so richly deserved their revenge last week. No wonder we are bottom of the table.

Bromley boss Andy Woodman would be looking for a positive reaction today from his men following their mauling in the Potteries last time out. Since last time they met, he has added another seven names to his squad including former Morecambe favourite Adam Mayor, who is on loan from Millwall, where he has failed to make an impact since leaving Lancashire. This is what the Ravens’ Manager said prior to the game:

“These teams are fighting for their lives. I must keep saying: these teams are established teams in this league compared to us. We can’t be caught up in ‘it’s going to be an easy game’; `it’s at home’ – no chance! They’ve got an experienced Manager who will be galvanising his team to get a result. I’m sure on their side of the fence they’ll be thinking we’ve got nothing to play for, etc etc. We have got something to play for: that’s putting some rights that we got wrong at the weekend and making sure we give this crowd something to cheer about again. So we’ll be all guns blazing ready for this game and certainly won’t be taking Morecambe lightly.”

Meanwhile, King Derek kept his upper lip so stiff that he was apparently unable to speak prior to making the long coach journey to the Garden of England. Instead, facing the music media was left to Tom White, the ex-Barrow midfielder who has been one of the very few stand-out successes in the Shrimps’ squad this season. He said:

“It’s not done yet. It’s never finished until it’s finished. We’re looking forward to Friday, everyone is still together, everyone is still pushing in the right direction, but it has taken a few days to understand why (the pathetic performance against Carlisle) happened and trying to learn from it. It hurt a lot and I could see how much it meant to people. It killed all of us inside, but we’ve still got four games. The worst thing we can do now is give up and feel sorry for ourselves – we have to keep going.”

As far as his own feelings about impending relegation are concerned, he added:

“Since the start of the season, I’ve said it many times that I’ve found myself at a football club where I feel something towards the place that I haven’t really felt before. The fans have taken to me, and I’ve taken to them so it hurts you that bit more. Every lad in there cares and I can tell you that from the bottom of my heart; there’s still a chance and we will keep fighting till the very end.”

Directly addressing those fans who clearly adore his commitment and his never-say-die attitude, Tom concluded:

“Thank you, you’ve been unbelievable. It means a lot to us in there. We’ll be doing everything we can to try and put smiles on faces in the last four games.”

King Derek was right down to the bare bones today. In the absence of so many injured players and an illness to Callum Cooke which saw him admitted to hospital this week, the boss had to name two Academy players – Adam Fairclogh and Lennon Dobson – in his squad today and had little choice other than to include the usually totally ineffectual Ben Tollitt and Paul Lewis in the starting eleven.  

It was dry but quite windy in Kent as the game kicked-off. The home team had the first chance of the game within a minute as defender Deji Elerewe got on the end of Michael Cheek’s flicked header in the shadow of the goal but was unable to bundle it home. Leading scorer Cheek then tried his luck after six minutes after Danny Imray had weaved his way through the away defence and set him up but the Bromley Captain’s attempt went way over the bar. Morecambe responded with some possession but no threats on goal before the home team forced two excellent saves in the space of a minute from visiting custodian Harry Burgoyne. With sixteen minutes on the clock, Kamarl Grant forced Harry to concede a corner with a fantastic stop from his powerful shot. From this, Harry stood big and did well to hold onto the ball as Omar Sowunmi headed just as powerfully right at him.

The first time home goalkeeper Grant Smith was called into action was after 26 minutes, when Tollitt got away down the right and slung over a lovely cross which Paul Lewis headed straight at the Ravens’ veteran stopper.

Morecambe were on the attack again after 28 minutes before Andy Dallas lost control of the ball and Bromley struck quickly on the break. In a one-on-one situation, Imray raced clear but was again denied by Burgoyne, who was keeping the match goal-less virtually single-handed at this point. The Morecambe goalkeeper was then pushed as Bromley got the ball in the back of the net with half an hour played but Referee Declan Bourne had already blown for a free-kick.

Grant had an easy save from Dallas shortly after this. Before half-time, though, Jamie Stott had to leave the field with a bandaged head and David Tutonda was forced to take-up an unaccustomed position in central defence as a result. During injury time, Lee Angol managed to spin and take a shot which narrowly missed the target. But at the other end, Cheek then also missed with a header in what proved to be the last meaningful chance of the half.

So the match ended nil-nil at half time and with Harry Burgoyne to be thanked for the fact that the Shrimps weren’t in arrears yet again. But scores from elsewhere must have darkened the mood even further in the away dressing room. Carlisle were beating leaders Port Vale 2-0 in Cumbria and Accrington were winning 0-1 at Salford. Only Tranmere from the potential Legion of the Damned were losing: 0-1 at home against Donny. If these scores remained the same at the end of the game, Morecambe’s suffering this season would be effectively at an end with only three games still to play. So a win – unlikely on the Shrimps’ performance so far – was more imperative then ever in the second half.

Instead, their response was absolutely catastrophic. Within two minutes of the restart, League Two leading marksman Cheek made it 23 goals for the season from the penalty spot after David Tutonda had brought down Imray in the area with a clumsy challenge. In response, Morecambe came closer than they had done all afternoon as Angol twisted and turned in the Bromley box before unleashing a fierce drive which Smith did brilliantly to keep out after 53 minutes.

They should have equalised when Angol then managed to dispossess his man on the left with a brave challenge; got up and found Dallas unmarked in the middle of the pitch with only the goalkeeper to beat. But Andy’s shot was weak enough for Smith to be able to push it away for a corner with 55 minutes on the clock. From this, Ashley Charles came to Bromley’s rescue when he headed Max Taylor’s effort off the line after Smith had been beaten. Callum Jones then forced Smith into another good save after 63 minutes as Morecambe desperately tried to claw their way back into the match.

But things got even worse for the visitors after Tutonda was sent-off for a foul on Imray just two minutes after he had first had his name taken by the Referee. So the Shrimps were down to ten men for the final twenty-odd minutes of the contest. Derek shook things up towards the end but – as has been the case so often this season – his men never really looked like getting back into it.

So that was that: Morecambe’s tenth defeat in a row on the road by an oh-so-familiar scoreline: one-nil; the fifteenth time they have lost by this score so far this season. The New Guard in the shape of the Ravens have completely swept away the Old Guard in the shape of the Shrimps this season with a well-deserved double which will sadly stand for a foreseeable future which is so uncertain for Morecambe.

The turning-point in the game today was when Jamie Scott had to leave the field with a head injury. His replacement – David Tutonda – had a nightmare afternoon; conceding a penalty and then being sent-off for a completely needless challenge. You can’t do this at this level of football and expect to get away with it.

Elsewhere, to make things even worse, Carlisle survived a late penalty miss by Port Vale to win their home game against the league leaders 3-2. Accrington also won at Salford by the odd goal in three to almost certainly make themselves safe near the bottom of the division. Tranmere were walloped 0-3 at home by Doncaster to make it a contest between themselves and Carlisle about who will accompany the Shrimps down to the National League at the end of the season. We are not technically relegated yet but it’s realistically – and very depressingly – only a matter of time now as we stay rooted to the bottom of the EFL tonight, eight points from safety. This is what Derek said about his men at the end of it all today:

“They gave their best; they worked ever so hard. We were without nine players today. We’re missing another two come Monday because Dackers is out and so it Tutonda. We were unfortunate at times. Over the afternoon, I thought we competed well. We gave away a penalty. We’re up against it after that. It’s allowed Bromley to have the upper hand.”

Bromley: 1 Grant Smith; 3 Deji Elerewe; 4 Ashley Charles (Y); 5 Omar Sowunmi (Y); 9 Michael Cheek (C); 16 Kamarl Antonio Grant; 20 Jude Arthurs; 22 Cameron Congreve (31 Brooklyn Ilunga 61’); 25 Danny Imray (13 Harry McKirdy 82’); 30 Idris Odutayo; 32 Ben Thompson (18 Corey Whitely 61’).

Subs not used: 12 Sam Long; 26 Nicke Kabamba; 34 Adam Mayor; 35 Maldini Kacurri.

Morecambe:  1 Harry Burgoyne; 3 Adam Lewis; 4 Tom White; 5 Max Taylor; 6 Jamie Stott (23 David Tutonda (R) 41’); 10 Lee Angol (19 Marcus Dackers 79’); 16 Andy Dallas (9 Hallam Hope 65’); 17 Paul Lewis (Y); 18 Ben Tollitt; 24 Yann Songo’o(C) (Y); 28 Callum Jones (11 Jordan Slew 79’).

Subs not used: 12 Ryan Schofield; 26 Lennon Dobson; 29 Adam Fairclough.

Ref: Declan Bourne.

Att: 2,382 (213 from Morecambe, god bless them.)