The Shrimps are back in action on Tuesday 8 March as they take on Bolton Wanderers in Sky Bet League One.

Morecambe will look to bounce back after last weekend’s game at Home Park, which saw Conor Grant and Ryan Hardie secure the points for Plymouth Argyle in a 2-0 defeat.

The Shrimps have a short history with Bolton, which started just 12 months ago, when the teams met twice in League Two. Last time at the Mazuma Stadium, Cole Stockton fired home from an Adam Phillips cross, before a stoppage time equaliser from Amadou Bakayoko rescued a point for the 10-man Wanderers. 

The Opposition 

Ian Evatt’s side come into the clash with Morecambe on good form, winning seven of their last 10 games. Their last outing saw them walk away with all three points, seeing off Gillingham away from home. Aaron Morley put the Trotters 1-0 up before second-half strikes from Declan John and Jón Dadi Bödvarsson secured the win for Bolton.

Manager Ian Evatt began his career as a player at Derby County and made more than 500 professional appearances for various Clubs including Blackpool, Chesterfield, Northampton Town and Queens Park Rangers.

Evatt re-joined Chesterfield and was club captain before a brief stint as caretaker manager in 2018. That same year, he was announced as the new manager of Barrow AFC and in his second year in charge, the Club were promoted to the Football League. Evatt arrived at the University of Bolton Stadium ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, where he won the Trotters automatic promotion to League One.

Key Players

Born in Iceland, Jón Dadi Bödvarsson spent his youth career at his hometown club Selfoss and was signed for their senior team at 17-years-old. He played for Danish, German and Norwegian clubs before moving to England to join Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2016. Bödvarsson has since played for Championship Clubs Millwall and Reading, before arriving at Bolton Wanderers in January this year. The centre forward also has 62 senior caps for his native Iceland.

Declan John progressed through the youth Academy at Cardiff City, where he spent five years, before loan spells at Barnsley and Chesterfield. He was loaned to Scottish Premiership side Rangers and, three months later, the move was made permanent. In 2018, John returned to Wales and signed for Swansea City, but history repeated itself last year when it was confirmed that John would make the move to Bolton Wanderers following a stint on loan at the club. He has also made seven senior appearances for the Welsh national team. 

George Johnson started his youth career at Liverpool’s Academy, playing for their U18s and Under 23s team, before making one appearance for the first-team during a friendly. At 20 years old, he wanted more first-team experience which prompted a big move to Dutch club Feyenoord in 2019. Less than two years later, Johnson found himself returning to England on loan to League One club Wigan Athletic before signing for the Trotters last year.

Shrimps’ Pre-Match Thoughts 

Derek Adams says that he has his sights set on the teams above, but admits that his side must pick up a good number of wins between now and the end of the season.

He said: “I think, at this point of the season, we obviously need three points, we have got to pick up a good number of wins between now and the end of the season to make us safe. 

“There are two teams above us that we think we can catch, could we catch a third team above us in Lincoln City? It is a possibility. 

“We can only do that by winning football matches, we have to look at ourselves but we are obviously helped by other results in the league, we are looking to win the game and hope that the teams above us lose to jump those places above them.” 

Meet the Officials 

Christopher Sarginson will be the man in the middle on Tuesday night and will be assisted by linesmen Alan Clayton and Paul Newhouse. Aaron Jackson is Fourth Official. 

The Staffordshire-born referee has taken charge of 26 games so far this season and handed out 87 yellow cards and three red cards. Sarginson has officiated in League One, League Two, the FA Cup and the Football League Trophy this campaign.

The last match Sarginson officiated for the Shrimps was during the first round of the FA Cup last November, when Morecambe beat Newport County 1-0 at the Mazuma Stadium. 

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