Morecambe 0-2 Aldershot: Shrimps limp to crushing defeat!

By Derek Quinn

MORECAMBE 0

ALDERSHOT 2

Thomas 87, Hill 90+1 (pen)

Two late goals gave Aldershot a vital three points and moved Morecambe a step closer to National League North.

Kwame Thomas’s 87th-minute strike, followed by Ryan Hill’s stoppage-time penalty, gave the Shots their first win in seven games and took them seven points clear of the relegation spots.

Morecambe’s third defeat of the week left them eight points from safety and with only five games to go look destined for a third relegation in four seasons.

Aldershot boss John Coleman, who spent seven years at Morecambe as a player, said: “I haven’t been as nervous as I have been today for a few years and I felt those nerves all day. My stomach felt like it was a tumble dryer.”

“Sometimes people think it is easy when you are playing teams at the bottom but everyone is fighting for their lives and that was such a tough game today.

“We have to keep our foot on the gas now because I think we need a couple more wins. We know we can play well and get results and we will always strive to improve.’’

Frustration

Morecambe manager Jim Bentley added: “Aldershot were the better team for much of today but we were well in the game.”

“At 0-0 anything could happen and we missed a great chance to take the lead late on and they punished us with a cross that we just didn’t deal with.”

“It gives us a lot to do now and five massive games left for us. It’s disappointing and it is frustrating but you just have to keep going.

“The lads are giving their all and I can see the fight in them but although we are competing we fell the wrong side of that fine line again.’’

Match action

Morecambe went close to taking the lead in the fourth minute when Jack Nolan’s right wing corner was headed against the crossbar by Hill.

From there, the Shots looked the more threatening and hit the woodwork twice in quick succession through Cameron Hargreaves and Christy Grogan.

Both sides missed good chances after the break before the Shots broke the deadlock late on as Brody Peart crossed to the far post and substitute Thomas slid in to score from close range.

And the Shots added to their lead three minutes into added time when Charlie Warren was brought down in the box by Timmy Akindilene’s tired challenge and Hill made no mistake from the spot.

CLIMB: Aldershot’s Luke Nightingale outjumps his man PICTURE: Joe Gaskell

Lineups, stats and more

MORECAMBE: (5-3-2): Boney 6; Payne 6 (Tollitt 84), Hogan 6, Dean 7, Akindileni 6, Edwards 7; Azeez 6, Songo’o 6 (Sangare 74, 5); Lewis 5 (Thomas 74, 5); Nolan 7, Popov 5 (Ogwuru 73, 5). Subs not used: Scales, Jameson, Fogarty

ALDERSHOT: (4-4-2): Boyce-Clarke 7; Sheckleford 6 (Tetek 89), Nightingale 7, Grogan 7, Scott 7; Warren 7, Hill 7, Henry 7 (Widdrington 72, 6), Hargreaves 6; Peart 8, Stewart 6 (Thomas 84). Subs not used: Nash, Frost, Nelson, Penney