Bebe goal sinks Shrimps
A youthful Morecambe side was knocked out of the Lancashire Senior Cup after a 1-0 defeat to holders Manchester United at the Globe Arena writes ADAM WOODHOUSE.
The Red Devils included stars such as Federico Macheda, Bebe and Anders Lindegaard in their starting line-up and it was Bebe who scored the only goal of the game with a well taken solo effort.
Meanwhile, Stewart Drummond used the game as an opportunity to give starts to Alec Naylor, Aaron McGowan and Will Bell, alongside more senior players Lewis Alessandra and Izak Reid.
It was United who had the first chance of the game, when Federico Macheda was put through on goal by Ryan Tunnicliffe but after rounding Andreas Arestidou the Italian’s shot was superbly blocked on the line by the Morecambe defence.
The Shrimps then began to get a foothold in the game, with Alessandra and Reid both looking dangerous in attack.
It was those two who linked up well for Morecambe’s first chance, when Alessandra’s long ball beat the entire United defence, but Reid could only blaze over when one-on-one with goalkeeper Lindegaard.
Just seconds later and Drummond’s side nearly went in front again, when winger Dan Parkinson was put through on goal after a sublime pass from youngster Naylor, but he saw his shot well saved by the feet of Lindegaard.
Warren Joyce’s Red Devils woke up after those missed chances, with Bebe and Davide Petrucci causing problems for the Morecambe defence.
The Shrimps had Arestidou to thank for keeping the scoreline at 0-0, when first, he pushed aside Petrucci’s long range strike, before expertly turning Mikele Fornasier’s overhead kick wide of his right post at full stretch.
But the Shrimps keeper could do nothing to prevent Bebe from giving United the lead after 28 minutes, when the Portuguese U21 international weaved his way past Laurence Wilson before shooting low and hard across Arestidou into the bottom corner.
It was more of the same after the break with United’s attacking talent too much for the Shrimps defence and Arestidou had to be at his best to keep it at 1-0.
He got down well to his left hand post to push Tunnicliffe’s low drive behind, before Petrucci’s ferocious strike was heading for the top corner before the Morecambe stopper flung himself to his right and tipped the ball over the bar.
The Shrimps struggled in attack, with blocked shots from both Alessandra and Parkinson the best they could muster.
Bebe – who cost United £7million in 2010 – continued to cause problems with his pace and he nearly got his second of the night when his goal-bound shot was well blocked by Chris Doyle and Andy Parrish.
Drummond’s side made a last ditch attempt to get an equaliser but Wilson saw his speculative shot blocked, as the Shrimps failed to break through a stubborn United defence.
It is now back to league action for the Shrimps with a home game against Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday, with several players certain to have impressed manager Jim Bentley.
Morecambe: Arestidou; McGowan, Parrish, Doyle, Wilson (Lewis 86); McGee, Bell, Naylor; Reid, Alessandra, Parkinson (Woods 67). Subs not used: Pybis, Dunleavy, Newton.
Man United: Lindegaard; Wootton, Keane, Fornasier, Vermijl; Bebe (Lawrence 78), Thorpe (Januzaj 67), Tunnicliffe, Cole; Petrucci; Macheda. Subs not used: McGinty, Sutherland, Veselli.
Referee: Dean Mohareb
Attendance: 904