Amond strike earns three points
ADRAIG AMOND scored his first Morecambe goal as the Shrimps fought back from a goal down to beat Plymouth Argyle at the Globe Arena.
Reuben Reid had given the Pilgrims a 27th minute lead from the penalty spot, but Kevin Ellison scored his third goal of the season just seconds later to send the sides in level at the break.
With the second period cagier than the first chances came at a premium but Amond’s instinctive strike seven minutes from time was enough to earn the Shrimps’ a second league win of the season and a first ever victory against Plymouth.
Jim Bentley’s side now have the same amount of points as they tallied at the same stage last season and the win means it is the first time the Shrimps’ have won back-to-back league games since February.
Following Wednesday night’s hardworking performance against Newcastle, Bentley made four changes to his side for the visit of the Pilgrims.
, Robbie Threlfall and Marcus Marshall all returned to the Shrimps starting XI, while Alex Kenyon made his second start for the club in place of the injured Ryan Williams.Chris McCready
Defenders Tony Diagne and Andy Wright, as well as forward Jack Sampson were all rested by Bentley, meanwhile the visitors included former Morecambe winger Lewis Alessandra on the right of their four-man midfield.
It was Alessandra’s new side who began the game on the front foot and former Accrington Stanley winger Romauld Boco’s direct attacking play forced the Morecambe defence to drop deep.
The Benin international sent in several dangerous crosses in the early stages and only two last-ditch tackles from Threlfall denied the visitors two simple tap-ins.
As the Pilgrims continued to try and build on their recent run of fine form Dominic Blizzard hit a driven shot just yards over the Morecambe crossbar, before the Shrimps created some chances of their own in an open first 10 minutes.
Following successive corners, Ellison – who scored a brace against Exeter last weekend – connected well with two volleys but both were well blocked by the Plymouth defence as the Shrimps failed to find an early breakthrough.
The game then hit a bit of a lull as both sides tried to settle but it was the visitors who looked more dangerous in the final third with powerful strikers Reid and Marvin Morgan causing constant problems for the Morecambe back four.
One of those forwards Reid tried an ambitious lob over Barry Roche which flew harmlessly over the crossbar, before both strikers combined for the game’s opening goal.
After Morgan used his strength to get into the Morecambe penalty area, Shrimps’ captain Mark Hughes dragged the former Shrewsbury striker to the ground, with referee Tony Harrington immediately pointing to the spot.
Reid – who scored Plymouth’s winning goal from the penalty spot last weekend – made no mistake from 12 yards again, sending Roche the wrong way and finding the bottom left corner.
With little time for the Globe Arena to digest that opening goal, they were witnessing another just seconds later as the Shrimps hit back in devastating fashion.
After the visitors failed to deal with a long ball forward, Ellison pounced on the loose ball and before any defenders could get close to him he unleashed a ferocious shot which beat Luke McCormick at his near post and sent the home fans into raptures.
Both sides targeted a foothold in the game as the half wore on but a long range volley from Plymouth captain Conor Hourihane which flew wide of Roche’s goal was the closest either side came to scoring the game’s third goal.
The Shrimps were hit with a major blow just before half-time however, as the returning McCready was substituted with a shoulder injury after falling awkwardly in the box.
Just like in the first-half both sides showed their attacking intent from the off after the break but this time without creating many clear cut chances.
Goalscorer Ellison narrowly failed to connect with Hughes’ deep free-kick at the back post, before the Shrimps’ winger clattered into one of the corner flags, meaning a delay in play.
Once the game finally did resume, the visitors came close to taking the lead for a second time.
Former Preston North End defender Neal Trotman headed Hourihane’s free-kick towards goal but the flying Roche pulled off strong one-handed save to turn the ball away from goal before Andy Parrish superbly blocked from Curtis Nelson’s follow-up.
Chances continued to be few and far between as the hour mark approached, which saw the introduction of the in-form Sampson in place of the lively Marshall.
With more of a presence up front now and Amond operating from the right-wing the Shrimps looked more threatening and Trotman came within inches of heading the Irishman’s cross into his own net but fortunately for the Pilgrims it looped just over the crossbar.
From the resulting corner Hughes headed onto the roof of the net as the Shrimps sensed the goal which would hand them their second league win of the season.
The home crowd did not have to wait long for that goal however, as the Shrimps’ attacking intent paid off.
After Andy Fleming found space in midfield he played the ball into Amond, who hit a first-time left-footed shot which rifled past McCormick and high into the Plymouth goal.
With the home crowd now in buoyant mood John Sheridan’s side failed to reply and Threlfall hit a low shot just wide as the Shrimps hung on to record a second win in seven days.
Morecambe: Roche; Parrish, McCready (Wright 43), Hughes, Threlfall; Drummond, Kenyon, Fleming; Marshall (Sampson 66), Amond, Ellison (Diagne 90).
Subs not used: Arestidou, Doyle, McGee, Mwasile.
Plymouth: McCormick; Nelson, Branston, Trotman, Berry (Blanchard 49); Alessandra, Hourihane, Blizzard, Boco (Harvey 87); Reid (Gurrieri 73), Morgan.
Subs not used: Cole, Blackman, Young, Richards.
Referee: T Harrington