We make the trip to South Wales on Tuesday 12 March to face Newport County AFC.
Morecambe will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they face their second Welsh opponents in as many fixtures on Tuesday night.
At the weekend, the Shrimps hosted Wrexham AFC at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium. Ged Garner’s opener in the fourth minute got Morecambe off to the perfect start, before James McClean found an equaliser for the visitors, his vicious strike finding the roof of the net. Shortly after the break, Max Melbourne was dismissed following a second yellow card, and the momentum of the game swung in the Red Dragons favour – the visitors eventually winning the game 3-1 following goals from Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher.
In their last outing, Newport County made the trip to Greater Manchester to face Stockport County. It looked as though the spoils would be shared at Edgeley Park before Paddy Madden’s 93rd minute winner snatched all three points for the home side.
Tuesday evening’s two sides last met in late November, when the Exiles headed north to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium. On this evening, Michael Mellon gave the hosts the lead, before goals from Will Evans and Seb Palmer-Houlden completed a Newport County comeback – the scoreline ultimately finishing 2-1 to the visitors.
The Opposition
The Exiles have had a mixed start to their campaign thus far, 14 wins and seven draws leaving Graham Coughlan’s side with 49 points – 13th in the standings.
49-year-old Coughlan has been in charge at Rodney Parade since the October of 2022, having previously managed at Mansfield Town and Bristol Rovers.
Key Players
Will Evans has been integral in the Exiles efforts so far in this campaign, the winger scoring 24 goals in his 45 appearances in all competitions. Evans joined the side in the summer of 2022, after joining from Cymru Premier side Bala Town.
Ex-Shrimp Shane McLoughlin has also been a crucial asset in Newport County’s Sky Bet League Two endeavours, the Irishman scoring six and assisting eight in his 42 outings for the side.
Ged Brannan’s Pre-Match Thoughts
Morecambe manager Ged Brannan spoke ahead of Tuesday’s long trip, and the challenge that awaits. He said:
“They’re a top team. They beat us here during my second game [in charge] 2-1.”
“It’s going to be a really, really tough game. It’s a long way to go, we’re going down today so we’ll have all day tomorrow to relax and get ready for the game, so we’ll give it our best shot, but we know it’s going to be a tough game because they’re a top team.”
The Man in the Middle
Referee Scott Simpson will be the man in the middle on Tuesday night, the official taking charge of his 24th game of the season. In his previous 23, Simpson has brandished no fewer than 123 cards, including nine red cards.
Four of these cards came in August, when the Shrimps visited the Stags, Mansfield Town ultimately finishing 3-0 victors on this afternoon.
Declan O’Shea and Oliver Spender will run the line at Rodney Parade, with fourth official Scott Jackson completing the team of officials.
Team News
Long-term absentees JJ McKiernan, Stu Moore, Donald Love and Brandon Barker remain sidelined for the Shrimps, with defender Farrend Rawson also a doubt.
Watch Live!
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