Shrimps make Friday night trip to Meadow Lane

29 December 2023

We make the Friday night trip to Meadow Lane to face Notts County on Friday 29 December.

Morecambe will look to build on their Boxing Day performance in Bradford with a trip to Nottingham to face Notts County under the lights at Meadow Lane.

The Shrimps’ trip to Yorkshire on Boxing Day saw them leave the University of Bradford Stadium with a point, in what was a true game of two halves. A strong first half from Ged Brannan’s men saw them go into the half-time break two goals to the good, but a battling performance from the hosts in the second half saw the Shrimps’ lead pegged back, with the score finishing 2-2 on the day.

Morecambe vs Bradford City 26th December-30.jpg

Notts County hosted Doncaster in their Boxing Day clash – a dominant display seeing them emerge as 3-0 victors in Nottinghamshire. Goals from ex-Shrimp Dan Crowley, Macaulay Langstaff, and Aaron Nemane set the Magpies on their way to their 12^th league win of the season.

The last three meetings of Friday night’s sides have resulted in a draw, the most recent of such results coming in this season’s reverse fixture at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in August. The score on that evening was 0-0, the spoils shared in the early stages of the Sky Bet League Two campaign.

The Opposition

After their trip to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in August, the Magpies went unbeaten until the end of September, and this has helped contribute to their reasonably strong start to the 2023-24 League Two campaign. 12 wins, three draws and nine losses leave Luke Williams’ men with 39 points – 5^th in the standings and well within the play-off positions.

Williams’ has held the position at the club since the summer of 2022. His first season at Meadow Lane saw him guide the side to a 107-point finish in the National League, finishing second only to a record-breaking Wrexham team. After beating Chesterfield on penalties in the play-off final at Wembley, County gained promotion back to the football league.

Key Players

Macaulay Langstaff has often led the line for the Magpies this season, scoring 16 goals in all competitions along the way. The 26-year-old has been at the club since the summer of 2022, proving an invaluable asset during their promotion-winning season where he scored 41 goals in 47 games.

Dan Crowley, who signed for County after leaving Morecambe in the summer, has also been an important part of Williams’ League Two campaign. The midfielder has bagged 10 goals so far in all competitions, assisting a further seven goals.

The Man in the Middle

Bobby Madley will take charge on Friday night, officiating his 16^th fixture of the season. In his previous 15, Madley has dished out 78 yellow cards, with an extra 4 reds finding their way out of his pocket.

Madley will be no stranger to Shrimps’ fans, the official taking charge at Wembley in the 2020-21 season where Morecambe overcame Newport County to gain promotion to Sky Bet League One.

He will be joined by Robert Hyde and Craig Taylor, while Alan Young will act as fourth official on the night.

Ged Brannan’s Pre-Match Thoughts

Shrimps manager Ged Brannan spoke ahead of Friday night's challenge.

"It's a great ground and a great place to play," he said. "They're a good footballing team - the same as us - so it will be a really entertaining game."

"They play similar to us. It will be a counter-attacking game I think, both sides counter-attacking all the time."

"We're going to go there with our gameplan and hopefully we will catch them half-asleep."

Team News

Defender Donald Love and goalkeeper Stu Moore remain sidelined for the Shrimps, with their respective long-term injuries.

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Match Reports

2023 ends in defeat at Meadow Lane

29 December 2023

A difficult evening in Nottingham sees the Shrimps suffer a heavy defeat on the road.

Macauley Langstaff netted a first half hat-trick with Dan Crowley also scoring inside the opening 45. Jodi Jones rounded off the scoring in the second half.

The hosts were awarded a penalty just shy of the ten minute mark after David Tutonda was adjudged to have brought down Aaron Nemane inside the box. Up stepped Langstaff who sent Adam Smith the wrong way to fire the Magpies in front.

Moments later, Langstaff doubled the home side’s advantage. Smith couldn’t hold a cross from the left and there was County’s number nine to convert the rebound.

Midway through the first half, Crowley made it three. After finding his way between to Morecambe defenders, the former Shrimp headed home from close range.

Looking for a way back into proceedings, the ball was worked down the Shrimps’ left and there was Adam Mayor to deliver an inviting cross into a dangerous area, though there was no red shirt to capitalise.

Ten minutes before the break, Langstaff completed his hat-trick with a curling effort from the edge of the D.

In the closing seconds of normal time in the first half, a deflected cross courtesy of Jordan Slew cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety.

Half-time: Notts County 4 Morecambe 0

Inside the first 60 seconds of the second half, Jones netted a fifth after picking up possession, driving into the Morecambe box and finding the bottom corner.

Half-time substitute Michael Mellon was presented with a half chance after connecting with Joel Senior’s cross, but the resulting header was into the ground which allowed Aidan Stone to collect comfortably.

Mellon again produced a headed opportunity after meeting Mayor's cross in the box, though it lacked the direction to test County's goalkeeper.

An excellent save from Smith denied David McGoldrick on 71 minutes; the former Derby County man found himself one-on-one to the inside left of Morecambe's box, but Smith made himself big to make the stop.

Mellon came close to pulling one back after breaking through and chipping the ball from distance, though the ball could only find the side-netting.

With the minutes ticking down, Yann Songo'o struck a venemous effort which sailed narrowly wide of Stone's left-hand post before JJ McKiernan curled an effort inches away from the bottom corner.

Full-time: Notts County 5 Morecambe 0

Notts County: Stone, Brindley (Macarl, 81'), Cameron ©, Crowley, Austin (Adebayo, 74'), Langstaff (O’Brien, 64’), Jones, Nemane, Baldwin, Bostock (Gosling, 63’, rep Rawlinson, 81'), McGoldrick.

Subs not used: Mahovo, Sanderson.

Goals: Langstaff (10’, 13’, 36’), Crowley (24’), Jones (46’).

Bookings: Brindley.

Red cards: None.

Morecambe: A Smith, Tutonda, Bedeau ©, Bloxham (Taylor, 29’), King (Mellon, HT), McKiernan, Mayor, Senior, Slew (C Smith, 80'), Davenport (Songo’o, 29’), Connolly (Rawson, HT).

Subs not used: Pedley, Melbourne.

Goals: None.

Bookings: Taylor, McKiernan.

Red cards: None.

Attendance: 9,786 (179 away).

Ticket News

Tickets on sale for our Meadow Lane visit

15 December 2023

The Shrimps travel to Meadow Lane in our final fixture of 2023 - and tickets are now on sale!

Ticket Prices

	In Advance	On the Day
Adult	£22.00	£24.00
Senior 65+	£16.00	£18.00
18-21	£16.00	£18.00
U18	£8.00	£10.00
U16	£6.00	£8.00
U12	£1.00	£1.00

Tickets can be purchased in-store, online by clicking here or by calling 01524 411797 (option three).

The deadline for advanced sales and refunds is Thursday 28 December at 12pm. Tickets will be available to buy on the day (subject to availability and to be confirmed by Notts County 24 hours before kick-off) for a slight price increase. Due to the Christmas period, there will be no postal service available for this fixture.

Duplicate ticket requests must be emailed to tickets@morecambefc.com in advance of Thursday 28 December at 12pm - alternatively, supporters can call 01524 411797 and select option three.

10 wheelchair bays will be available for visiting supporters at the relevant admission price; a complimentary carer ticket will then be provided. These tickets can only be purhcased in-store.

There will be no hospitality packages available to Shrimps supporters.

Your support on the road has been magnificent all throughout 2023, so let's see the year out with a strong backing at Meadow Lane!