ENTERPRISE NATIONAL LEAGUE. SATURDAY, 18th APRIL 2026.

Boreham Rigid at Morecambe.

Another traumatic season in the history of Morecambe Football Club ended at least as far as home fans were concerned today. Boreham Wood made the long trip north from the London suburbs to visit the Mazuma Mobile Arena for the first time ever. With the Shrimps’ third relegation in four years already assured, it could be a very sobering thought wondering when the two clubs’ paths might cross again in the future…

The Wood walloped the Ashvir Singh Johal parody of a football team by three goals to nil in early September last year as a Morecambe side with some players of just about enough ability to play for Lancaster City – and others with even less – were expected by their theory-obsessed boss to play like Manchester City at their best. Anyone with half a brain saw that this experiment was bound to fail – and indeed was already doing so even so early in the season. Yet Ashvir’s disastrous reign and his absurd tactical approach to the Beautiful Game was allowed to continue for the next four months, despite repeated losses and a clearly unfit and demoralised set of players on the pitch. No wonder we’ve been relegated again…

Boreham Wood arrived in fourth position in the National League but with nothing to play for. With their place in the Play-Offs already assured, Manager Luke Garrard would be more concerned about injuries or suspensions as a result of today’s match than the actual result. In theory at least…

All Morecambe had to play for was pride and trying to overcome Brackley to become only the fourth least hopeless of the Legion of the Damned at the bottom of the pile instead of third, in which position we began the game.

The club put out a wordy but typically ambiguous statement earlier in the week, stating on the one hand that Jim Bentley was going to relinquish his role as Manager and that a new one was being urgently sought but claiming – on the other – that he was also going to help the club rebuild to face the National League North in some unspecified capacity.

“Everyone at Morecambe FC wishes Jim him every success in his new role” the ownership assured us.

If only we knew what that was. Let’s hope that Jim does…

This was his own take on this latest development in his career:

“I think – well, I know – the club needs a new face. I’ve been here a long, long time. I think we need a freshness; I think the whole club needs a re-set and get that new man in with enthusiasm (who) doesn’t know the club – whoever that is who comes in – and look to a brighter future.”

He went on to outline his potential new role at the club and I for one thought that if you wrote-down the potential duties he was outlining for himself, it would look like a Job Description for a Fan Engagement Officer – a job done very ably by another One of Our Own, Tarnia Elsworth, on a voluntary basis until quite recently.

In an earlier statement of intent, however, the Panjab Warriors have committed themselves to keeping Morecambe FC running as a full-time professional club. They have also committed themselves to continue with an Academy next season. These are both really positive developments which give hope to everyone that Morecambe can do a Coventry City and get back to the good times in the hopefully not too distant future. Let’s hope that the owners are as good as their word.

It was a day of bright sunshine with the occasional ferocious shower in north Lancashire today. But the game was played under fairly bright skies and the rain held off as a strong wind blew via the home end from the adjacent sea throughout.

Jim promised before the game to give youngsters a chance this afternoon so there was no place in his squad today for any of Lewis Payne; Miguel Azeez; Harlee Dean; Myles Boney or George Thomas as might have been expected normally. I suspect that none of them will play for Morecambe ever again and I’m sure we can all think of at least three of them who will not be missed…

The visitors were dressed in a strip the same colour as Manchester City’s shirts – and they could have been City as far as Morecambe were concerned in the first half at least. It was Boreham Wood against Boreham Rigid: the Shrimps were outclassed, out-played and frankly completely out of their depth. With Morecambe Old Boy and Captain Tom White pulling the strings, the game was played almost entirely in the home half. The Shrimps had no answer to the visitor’s Abdul Oluwatosin Olubukola Alao Oladipupo Abdulmalik all match. It’s hell of a name – and he’s a hell of a player. The Wood had already hit the post when Zak Brunt had beaten Shrimps’ stopper Jamal Blackman after twenty-one minutes before this man scored with almost half an hour played. He latched onto one of the passes which had been wrecking Morecambe’s shape throughout the afternoon so far and scored with an assured shot.

Blackman had to dive full-length then after 35 minutes to pull-off an outstanding stop from a shot by Brunt. Two minutes later, Jamal was tested again and did well to tip an effort from Matt Rush over the bar.

Morecambe at least put the visitors under some sort of pressure at times in the second half. Jim gave the young lads – Oscar Wright, Adam Fairclough and Ma’kel Bogle-Campbell – ten minutes at the end. And it was really good to see their obvious commitment and lack of fear – a sharp contrast to far too many of their team-mates not only today but throughout this season.

But the reality of the gulf in class between the two teams was hammered home when a team with nothing to play for scored two more goals right at the end. In the ninetieth minute, substitute Joe Newton received a pass from the man with the name Abdul Malik written on his back and beat Blackman with a good shot to double the visitors’ lead. To rub it in, Boreham Wood got a third goal in the fifth minute of injury time as the impressive Brunt scored far too easily from some way out.

This game had an end-of-term feeling written all over it and the lack of yellow cards underlined this. But a three-nil home defeat in which visiting goalkeeper Ted Curd didn’t have a single shot to save is a final indictment of Morecambe’s plight at the moment: we really are hopeless.

The latest defeat saw us stay third from bottom as Brackley won 2-1 against Aldershot and can’t be caught as the leading member of the Legion of the Damned. Truro lost at home to Carlisle by the only goal of the game. Braintree also lost 1-2 at home to Rochdale, who still have hopes of winning the National League when they face York next week. Good luck to them.

But for us, it’s all irrelevant anyway: the fate of all the bottommost four clubs had been decided even before kick-off today.

The Wood will end the season in fourth place. They looked accomplished and well-coached today and they must be in with a chance of becoming an EFL club for the first time in their history in the next few weeks.

For the record, this is what Jim Bentley said after today’s latest pathetic performance:

“Disappointed – obviously – to lose the game. First half, I don’t think we were at it. But they’re a good side. So credit where credit’s due – they’ve got a little bit of class about them. I’m a bit disappointed with ourselves in regard our passing; (and) our desire a little bit if I’m being perfectly honest.”

He went on to salute the crowd: “The biggest positive” in his words – and I was proud to be one of them today, as ever.

Morecambe struggled to get 1500 people into Christie Park when the Shrimps went into the Football League almost twenty years ago, Today – to watch what is actually a really crummy non-league side – almost twice that number went through the turnstiles.

Jim’s right – the biggest positive for Morecambe Football Club is that a lot of people have yet to lose faith in it, despite all the shenanigans off the field and the rubbish served-up on it over the last few years.

There was little to celebrate at the end of the match – but lots of us stayed behind to applaud a temporary Manager who has done his best and his players, most of whom will never wear a Morecambe shirt again.

But – as Rochdale, York and Coventry City have shown us – it is possible to re-group and recover.

Seven years ago, we drew 0-0 at Coventry to keep Jim’s original team in the EFL by the skin of its teeth. The reaction of their fans at the time was sensational and something I will never forget. They were really generous – as our fans always are – and they never lost faith in their club, despite homelessness, financial problems and all sorts of other difficulties which must have seemed insurmountable at the time. But just look at where they are now…

Together, we can certainly emulate them and live to fight again…

Morecambe: 40; 3 Raheem Conte; 7 Gwion Edwards (27 80’); 16 Liam Hogan; 17 Paul Lewis; 20 Mo Sangare (19 Ma’kel Bogle-Campbell 73’); 23 Dan Ogwuru (31 Oscar Wright 61’); 24 Yann Songo’o (C) (18 Ben Tollitt 73’); 28 Tommy Fogarty; 33 Timothy Akindileni (12 Kyle Jameson 80’); 36 Jack Nolan.

Subs not used: 25 Alfie Scales; 42 Chris Popov.

Boreham Wood: 22 Ted Curd; 3 Femi Ilesanmi (12 Joe Newton 84’); 5 Chris Bush; 6 Charlie O’Connell; 7 Érico Sousa (20 Lewis Richardson 61’); 8 Zak Brunt; 10 Abdul Oluwatosin Olubukola Alao Oladipupo Abdulmalik; 15 James Clarke; 19 Tom White (C); 23 Regan Booty (16 Callum Reynolds 80’); 32 Matt Rush (26 Josh Landers 84’).

Subs not used: 2 Cameron Coxe; 14 Aaron Henry; 17 Charles Clayden.

Ref:  Dean Watson.

Att: 3,497 (80 from Borehamwood.)