THE Shrimps went down 2-0 to a strong Carlisle Utd side in the first of their Central League Cup group games at Frenchfield Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Goals from Carlisle’s former Premiership defender Clint Hill and United midfielder Samir Nabi were enough to secure the victory in what was a good test for both sides.
The Shrimps included the like of Mitchell Lund, Luke Conlan and Rhys Turner in their squad as they all gained valuable game time. Carlisle included former Morecambe midfielder Jamie Devitt in their side.
The first chance came when a poor roll-out from Morecambe keeper Cameron Armstrong was picked up up by the alert Sam Cosgrove. He drove into the box but a scuffed effort was easily saved.
The Shrimps had their chances but Carlisle created the next good opening when Kennedy showed strength with his back to goal. He fed the ball to a trialist but he curled his shot wide.
A big appeal for a penalty was waved away as a visiting defender appeared to use a hand to stop Devitt in his tracks, but Carlisle scored from the resulting corner. An excellent delivery was met with a firm header from Clint Hill and the keeper had no chance as it nestled in his bottom corner.
Morecambe almost replied immediately with a quickfire break and forced young keeper Lee Ashton into a fine save.
Things tightened up in the second half with Morecambe hitting the upright.
Nabi then hit the post for Carlisle before he doubled the Cumbrians' advantage when he was given space in the box to smash a volley through bodies. Armstrong got a touch but could do nothing to prevent it from going into his net.