A very sunny but cool April afternoon greeted the teams in this League Two clash on the Lancashire coast.
The hosts took the game to the Mariners right from the start with the Shrimps Liam Mandeville having a 35 yard shot well wide after less than 30 seconds. Morecambe continued to press in the early stages gaining an unproductive corner before veteran forward Kevin Ellison sent in a dipping volley just over the bar on fifteen minutes.
The visitors awoke from their slumber & were almost ahead with their first meaningful attack on nineteen minutes when a goalbound Charles Vernam header produced a smart save from the evergreen Barry Roche in the Morecambe goal. This near miss seemed to encourage the visitors as first Kristian Dennis then Joe Grayson went close for the Mariners, the latter producing another excellent Roche save. Roche was being kept busy in the Shrimps goal saving a Danny Collins header on the half hour then beating away another Vernam effort four minutes later. In the latter stages of the first period Morecambe midfielder Aaron Wildig came close with a low left foot shot from distance before Mandeville had an effort from close range blocked as the half ended all square with defences on top.
HALF TIME: Shrimps 0 Mariners 0
The early stages of the second period were very scrappy indeed turning into a midfield battle & neither side seemed able to string more than a couple of passes together.
Morecambe boss Jim Bentley looked more & more frustrated at his sides lack of attacking progress & around the hour mark replaced Ellison, Bennett & Mingoia & brought on forward Aaron Collins, Vandane Oliver & defender Jordan Cranston. Grimsby brought on Harry Clifton for the injured Harry Cardwell.
Just as it looked like I may have to report a second half without any real chances for either team, drama. Shrimps sub Collins found himself through on goal on eighty minutes, he tried to go round Mariners keeper James McKeown who seemed to get a touch of the ball before Collins went to ground theatrically. The referee immediately pointed to the spot & awarded Morecambe a very fortunate penalty. Collins took the spot kick himself & smashed the ball down the middle with McKeown diving to his left to give the Shrimps the lead.
Mariners boss Michael Jolley responded to the loss of the goal by bringing on his last two subs Hall-Johnson & Whitmore for Ring & Woolford. The Mariners poured forward in the latter stages looking for a leveller & managed it on eighty-seven minutes when a Davis cross was controlled by Dennis who squared it for Vernam to apply the finishing touch for 1-1.
All in all, a fair result between two battling sides where both defences were largely on top. The bobbly Globe Arena playing surface wasn’t really conducive to good football but I enjoyed & appreciated the effort & commitment both teams showed.
I rarely talk about stadium catering at any of the many grounds I visit as it’s usually rubbish. I had heard a lot about Morecambe’s award-winning pies so I decided to try one to see what all the fuss was about. I was expecting to be underwhelmed but not a bit of it. For £3.50 I was served the most delicious Chicken Ham & Leek pie along with mushy peas & an equally delicious gravy. Magnificent! THE best pie I have tasted in 40+ years of going around the country following footy, if you ever visit the Globe Arena you simply have to have one.
words Ian Bradley, D3D4 roving reporter