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Adams praises Shrimps’ competitive edge following victory over Tykes

22 October 2022

Derek Adams was pleased with the competitive nature his Shrimps players showed during Saturday’s victory over Barnsley.

Both sides carved out chances during the opening stages, but it was Kieran Phillips who made his count.

The Huddersfield Town loanee reacted quickest to Ryan Cooney's long throw into the box and converted from close range, his fourth Sky Bet League One goal of the season.

The Shrimps defended resolutely to protect the points, and Adams says he was pleased with how his players applied themselves.

"I thought the back three, back five and midfield competed ever so well," he said.

"We closed down space, we got a foot in front and, later on in the game, we had a number of players getting in behind as well.

"Dylan [Connolly] came on, he gave us energy, so did Adam Mayor, the two up top were there to start with and we were able to change it about.

"I thought [Ousmane] Fane in the middle of the park was immense, breaking things down, harassing players as well, and that all added to the performance.

"I think today, we deserved the three points, we played very well, we competed well which we had to because we were coming up against strong opposition just joining from the Championship.

"We stopped them playing and we obviously had opportunities in the game as well."

In what proved to be an incredible Mazuma Stadium atmosphere, the gaffer wasn't surprised given the application of his players.

He continued: "They [the supporters] see the effort the players are putting in and, if you are a supporter, that's the first thing you expect.

"The second thing is you expect goals, we got a goal today and probably the third thing you expect is a clean sheet and we've done all three today.

"The effort to the final whistle, the players were helped by the supporters and the running power when we made the changes as well.

"If you're a Morecambe supporter, many years ago, you'd have been delighted just to play some of these teams once in your lifetime, Sheffield Wednesday, we're playing them twice away from home this year.

"It's something we're doing, we're happy to and we're looking to compete."


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