Jim Bentley on Carlisle, Exeter, Danny Ward & Aaron Wildig
Morecambe boss Jim Bentley reflects on a week that has seen The Shrimps’ pick up a point away to Carlisle and looks ahead to this weekend’s trip to Exeter.
The gaffer is also pleased with how well his two new loan signings have integrated into the group: “Danny Ward came into the group late in the week and had a training session with us. I think he adjusted to his new surroundings very quickly and I was really impressed with his attitude during training and the game.
“Any point away from home is a good point. We wanted three points and on another day we could have got the win but overall I was pretty pleased with a hard earned point. I thought it was a fantastic following from our fans and they really got behind the team and I’m pleased we gave them something to cheer about.”
“The second half was much the same as the first until they scored. It was a long shot that came through a group of players so Danny’s seen it late. After that I thought they dropped deep and we again got into some promising positions. We got the penalty, which Podge tucked away nicely and could have nicked it late on when Jack Redshaw hit the crossbar.
“There wasn’t many chances in the game but we could have easily nicked it late on with a couple of decent opportunities. We knew what to expect coming into the game and our shape was good and we limited them to one shot on target in the first half, which Dan Ward made a good save from. We hit them on the counter attack a few times and had one or two good opportunities ourselves.
Jim was pleased with his team’s performance against Carlisle where a penalty from Padraig Amond secured a draw after Brad Potts had put the home side ahead: “It was a strong professional away performance and we ground out a point against tough opposition who have a strong squad on paper.
“Aaron Wildig only met his team mates on the coach on Saturday morning and again showed a great attitude and adapted to his new surroundings superbly. He comes highly recommended and we know he’s a good footballer. He’s got good experience at Championship and League One level and I thought throwing him straight into the starting eleven would have given everyone a boost.
“In the game he did well and you can see that he’s a quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately we won’t have him this weekend as he’s been called up to the full Welsh squad, which I think is the first time we’ve had a player unavailable due to being on international duty.
“It’ll be a long journey down there and we’ll prepare as professionally as we always do and will train in the Bristol area on the way down on Friday.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s trip to Exeter, Jim and the team are busy preparing for what should be a tough game on the south coast: “We play Exeter on Saturday who are going well and I thought they were one of the better sides we played in the first half of the season. It’ll be a tough match as they’ve been in decent form over the last couple of games but again we’ll give our all to try and win the game at a place where we’ve got a decent enough record over the past few seasons.
“Sometimes a fresh face can have a positive effect on the group. He played well and could have scored with a good chance in the second half. He’s not played many games recently so naturally he tired in the second half but I feel as though he’ll be a good addition to the squad for the next month.”