Shrimps ready for rearranged Railwaymen visit

8 April 2024

We will be looking to bounce back to winning ways on Tuesday 9 April, when we host Crewe Alexandra at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

Morecambe will be hoping to be third time lucky when they face Crewe Alexandra in a twice rearranged fixture in Sky Bet League Two. It will be the Shrimps third home outing in as many games, after important games against Barrow and Doncaster Rovers.

The Rovers’ visit to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium on Saturday is one that Ged Brannan’s side will be looking to forget sooner rather than later; the home side struggling to get going on a windy spring afternoon. A Luke Molyneux brace and a late Tommy Rowe strike meant the South Yorkshire side travelled home with all three points – three goals to nil the final score.

Morecambe vs Doncaster 6th April-060.jpg

For Crewe Alexandra, Saturday saw them make the journey north to the Wham Stadium for a clash with Accrington Stanley. Neither side could break the deadlock, and the spoils were ultimately shared, helping Stanley to secure their safety in League Two. The result meant the promotion-chasing Railwaymen have extended their winless run to five games, the Cheshire outfit’s last victory coming on the 12 March when they faced relegation-threatened Sutton United.

Tuesday night’s two sides last met only a month ago, when the Shrimps travelled to the Mornflake Stadium on Saturday 2 March. The Railwaymen took a two-goal lead, and seemed to have a firm grasp on proceedings until Joe Adams pegged one back for the Shrimps in the 69^th minute.

Adams nearly came close five minutes later, his shot blocked before winger Jordan Slew drove home the rebound to level the scores. In the 83^rd minute, the travelling Shrimps were sent further into raptures, when Farrend Rawson prodded home from a cross to complete a memorable comeback for Morecambe.

The Opposition

Despite their recent winless run, the Railwaymen have undoubtedly had a strong season in their League Two campaign. 18 wins and 13 draws have earned the side 67 points, leaving Lee Bell’s men sixth place in the standings.

Bell, who was recently nominated for Sky Bet League Two Manager of the Year in the 2024 EFL Awards, has been in charge at the Mornflake Stadium since December 2022, after a month-long spell as interim manager.

Bell knows the Railwaymen well, having started his playing career as a product of the Crewe Alexandra academy, and ultimately making over 140 appearances for the side over two spells during his career.

Key Players

Elliott Nevitt leads the goalscoring charts for the Railwaymen, the centre-forward scoring 16 times in his 45 appearances so far this season. The 27-year-old, who scored the opener when the Shrimps visited Cheshire in early March, joined the side in the January of 2023, having spent a spell at Tranmere Rovers.

For the Alex, goals have been coming from all over the pitch, and centre-back Mickey Demetriou is a prime example of this. Demetriou has scored nine and assisted six in his 48 appearances, and has played every minute in all but one of Crewe Alexandra’s League Two fixtures this season.

Ged Brannan’s Pre-Match Thoughts

Morecambe manager Ged Brannan spoke to the press ahead of the Railwaymen's visit to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium. He said:

"No matter what Crewe you play, they're always a top team. They've got a great manager there, he's been nominated for one of the managers of the year.

"He's been fantastic this season, obviously they've not got the biggest budget this season so fair play to him.

"Crewe will be a really hard test for us. They'll pass the ball, they'll press us, they'll be a really good team and it will be hard for us tomorrow."

The Man in the Middle

Scott Oldham will take charge at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium on Tuesday night, the referee officiating his 36^th fixture of the season. In his previous 35, Oldham has brandished 112 cards, six of these red and 106 of them yellow.

He is yet to take charge of a match involving the Shrimps this season; the last of such games coming in Ocober in 2022 when Morecambe travelled to Cheltenham Town.

Assistants Kevin Mulraine and Matthew Sowerby will be running the line, with fourth official Steven Rushton completing the team of officials.

Team News

Stu Moore, Donald Love and Brandon Barker remain sidelined for the Shrimps with their respective long-term injuries, while Farrend Rawson and JJ McKiernan both made appearances off the bench on Saturday after periods on the sidelines.

Watch Live!

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Match Reports

Shrimps defeated by Railwaymen

9 April 2024

Elliott Nevitt’s second-half strike see’s Morecambe downed by 10-man Crewe.

The Shrimps were looking to bounce back from defeat against Doncaster at the weekend. A home victory under the lights against Crewe Alexandra paramount for Ged Brannan’s men if they were to mount a late play-off challenge.

Six points from seven games made for grim reading for Crewe Alexandra fans, having seen their automatic promotion hopes eb away in recent weeks. An away win at the Mazuma would solidify the Railwaymen’s position in in the top seven, keeping their promotion hopes alive.

An energetic start saw speculative efforts at both ends fly harmlessly off target – blustery conditions providing a unique challenge for both sides.

Joel Senior came within a whisker of firing the Shrimps ahead just after 10 minutes, when David Tutonda won a free kick in a dangerous area. Senior struck low from 20 yards, bending a fearsome effort to the goalkeepers left, only denied by a fine stop from Tom Booth.

Ged Brannan’s men, unabashed by the pressure of the fixture, attacked a resolute Crewe defence; tenacity and intensity from Gwion Edwards and Yann Songo’o characterising a fluid offensive performance.

That tenacity almost paid off; a series of set plays saw the best chance of the opening period fall the way of the home side. Songo’o lost his marker at the front post, glancing a pacy header goalward, only for the effort to be cleared off the goal line by an Alex defender.

The pressure continued as the home side searched for an opener - Senior, a constant threat from the set piece, floated an inviting delivery towards the back post. Jordan Slew did well to connect, and flashed his first-time effort goalward, but was left looking to the sky as his strike whistled the wrong side Booth’s far post.

A late flurry of activity from the visitors saw the Reds defence tested for the first time, but all attempts amounted to nothing, and time was called with the game still deadlocked.

Half-time: Morecambe 0 Crewe Alexandra 0

A cagey start to the second 45 saw both sides maintaining robust shape out of possession, and proving tough to break down.

Lee Bell’s side enjoyed the lion's share of possession, although a strong Morecambe defence restricting the Alex to efforts from range.

Crewe Alexandra’s patience eventually paid dividends just after the hour, when a stroke of luck for the visitors saw the ball fall to Elliott Nevitt at the back post.

Zac Williams made the initial drive forward, darting inside the Morecambe penalty area and firing at goal. The shot was blocked but trickled into the path of Nevitt, and the forward made no mistake, rifling home to give the visitors the advantage.

Lewis Leigh threatened to turn the tide on his own side as the 90 minutes neared its conclusion, flying in on Senior to earn himself an immediate dismissal.

Despite playing all five minutes of injury time with 10 men, the Alex weathered all the Ged Brannan’s men could offer, and full-time came with defeat for Morecambe.

Full-time: Morecambe 0 Crewe Alexandra 1

Morecambe: Mair, Tutonda, Bedeau, Rawson © (C. Smith 81’), Songo’o, Adams (McKiernan 66’) Senior, Slew, Edwards (Fairclough 88’), Brown (Garner 81’), Khumbeni.

Subs not used: A.Smith, Larsson, Threlkeld.

Goals: None.

Bookings: Songo’o.

Red cards: None.

Crewe Alexandra: Booth, Cooney, Adebisi, Williams, Demetriou ©, Tracey (Rowe 66’), Leigh, Holicek (Tabiner 78’), Nevitt, Austerfield, Billington.

Subs not used: Lenarcik, Finney, Kempster-Down, Kirk, Agius.

Goals: Nevitt.

Bookings: None.

Red cards: Leigh.

Attendance: 3564 (464 away).

Ticket News

Tickets on sale for the Railwaymen's Mazuma visit

2 April 2024

Tickets remain on sale for our rearranged home fixture against Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday 9 April.

Ticket Prices

	Standing	Seating
Adult	£20	£25
Concession	£15	£20
Young Adult 18-22	£10	£15
Junior 14-17	£5	£7
Child 2-13*	£3	£5

Children between the ages of two and 13 must be accompanied by a responsible adult over the age of 18. We do not permit entry for children under the age of two or prams/pushchairs into the stadium bowl.

Click here to order your tickets online, or visit the Club Shop. Tickets can also be bought over the phone; simply call 01524 411797 and select option three.

The deadline for sales is Tuesday 9 April at 19:45, whereas refunds can be obtained until midday on matchday.

Those wishing to purchase one of our wheelchair spaces, must do so by visiting us in-store. The relevant admission fee must be paid before a complimentary carer ticket is issued.

Bring the noise and back the boys!