It’s 12th versus 10th in Sky Bet League Two on Saturday when Gillingham travel to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.
The Shrimps will hope to bounce back following defeat last Sunday against Salford City at the Peninsula Stadium. Two goals either side of the break for the hosts courtesy of Connor McLennan and Callum Hendry saw City two up before a Theo Vassell own goal halved the deficit. With 11 minutes of normal time remaining, Curtis Tilt headed home from a corner to wrap up all three points for Karl Robinson’s men.
The Gills dropped points in their last outing with a 1-1 home draw against Grimsby Town. Donovan Wilson opened the scoring for the Mariners before, two minutes later, George Lapslie responded with a quick-fire equaliser.
Morecambe’s last win over the Kent side came in October 2011 thanks to goals from Garry Hunter and Kevin Ellison. Frank Nouble converted a 90th minute penalty which proved to be little more than a consolation.
The Opposition
After a strong start to the campaign which saw maximum points from the opening four games, Gillingham sacked manager Neil Harris at the beginning of October following three games in a row without a win.
Stephen Clemence took over just under a month later and has taken charge of 27 games to-date, winning 10, drawing seven and losing 10; picking up 37 points which averages out at 1.37 points-per-match. Heading into Saturday’s clash, the Gills sit 10th in League Two on 39 points.
Key Players
Defender Conor Materson is their leading scorer at the time of writing with six goals, all of which have come in League Two. Beginning his career at Lucan United in the Republic of Ireland, the 25-year-old made the switch to Liverpool’s youth setup in 2015. He remained with the Anfield side until 2019 where he left the U23s to link up with QPR. Various loan spells followed with Swindon Town, Cambridge United and Gillingham before a permanent switch to the Priestfield Stadium followed in the summer of 2023.
A familiar name to Shrimps fans is that of goalkeeper Jake Turner. The 25-year-old goalkeeper spent the first half of the 2020/21 promotion-winning season on loan at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium before returning to Newcastle United U23s in the January. This season, Turner has kept a clean sheet in a third of the League Two matches he has featured in (11/33).
Stephen Clemence's Pre-Match Thoughts
Speaking to GillinghamFootballClub.com, manager Stephen Clemence assessed the Shrimps.
He said: "It will be tough, they've had a good season. Their results have obviously not been quite as good lately, but they had a really good run just after Christmas.
"They've got some good players, but so have we. I know our boys will be really looking forward to it.
"As I say, [we're] one point off the play-offs, if you can't be looking forward to a game like this, there's something wrong with you.
"We'll be right up for it, it's about us and how we take our game to them."
The Man in the Middle
Paul Howard will take charge of Saturday’s encounter and will be joined by assistants Alan Clayton and Callum Gough as well as fourth official Simon Clayton.
Howard’s last Morecambe match came in October last year where the Shrimps overcame Tranmere Rovers by one goal to nil on home soil.
This season to-date, Howard has issued 111 yellow cards in 30 games as well as four reds.
Team News
Long-term absentees Stu Moore, Donald Love, JJ McKiernan and Brandon Barker remain side-lined for this weekend’s game.
Watch Live!
Dave Salmon and goalkeeper Stu Moore will be providing full-match commentary of Saturday’s clash – you can watch the match live with an iFollow Shrimps video match pass for £10!
