Following yesterday’s excellent 3-0 win at Morecambe, here are some views on the game from the Shrimps’ manager Sammy McIlroy and a few of their fans.
McIlroy felt hard done-by. Wycombe’s penalty changed the course of the game and the Morecambe boss didn’t think it should have been awarded.
“I’m very disappointed with the scoreline,” he said. “I didn’t think it was a 3-0 game. For thirty-odd minutes I thought we were well in the game and then the referee made a decision that turned it.”
“Then after that, with the lads’ heads down with the decision, we have a mad five minutes and lose two goals. The second goal was very, very soft, and the third one killed us off – the game was over and we were playing for pride.”
“One thing we did do is play for pride in the second-half and I thought we did very well. We made their goalkeeper work and make two fantastic saves. We hit the bar and we kept going throughout the ninety minutes. For me, the game was turned on its head with that decision by the referee.”
“Garry Hunter is one of the most honest pros you could find and he said there was no contact and if the referee was up with play I’m sure he would have seen that. It was another decision that really went against us because we were the better team until then but that’s what happens when you are at the bottom of the table.”
“I have to give my lads credit for the way they played in the second half. They deserved a consolation goal at least. They could have rolled over and lost by a greater margin but they didn’t and we can take something from the game.”
The Morecambe fans were also disappointed that their good start turned into a third consecutive home-defeat.
The following extracts are taken from Shrimpsvoices.
steve mfc wrote:
‘Two incidents that totally changed the game were the injury to Wilson and then the penalty. Up until that point they didn’t look like scoring. Couldn’t tell if it was a penalty or not, but I thought Jevons was clearly fouled before they broke away to score their second. After that, we were all over the place for the remainder of the half and they grew in confidence. We certainly gave it a good go in the second half and did everything but score, but by then it was game over.’
LA1Shrimp wrote:
‘The game was over at half-time. Second half was completely irrelevant. We only played as well as they let us. People looking for positives aren’t gonna find any – we lost 3-0 and the table doesn’t lie. We are poor and I hope to God the two teams who have been consistently worse continue to be so as we couldn’t buy a win at the moment.’
james456 wrote:
‘3-0 definitely flattered Wycombe. Performance wise, I didn’t think they were much better than us. At the end of the day it’s the same old story: They took their chances, we didn’t. They defended properly for the 90 minutes, we didn’t.’
Phil Anderer wrote:
‘Wycombe thoroughly deserved to win, and I don’t think the scoreline flattered them given the number of near misses, last minute tackles, and Barry’s clearance off the line with his foot. Even though we were playing against 12, and sometimes 13 men, and we came back much better in the second half, the game was comfortably theirs.’
Keith wrote:
‘We should have had a penalty a few minutes before they got theirs. If our appeal wasn’t one, then theirs wasn’t either. To that end, we’ve not had a fair rub of the green. We were on top at the time of our appeal, and that decision, and the decision to give theirs, probably changed the whole game.’
Matty the Shrimp wrote:
‘Second half was much brighter. We played really well, hit the bar, had one cleared off the line and had a long chip saved somehow. On the downside, the ref was, once again, an absolute tit! Ainsworth bursts into the box, helps it on with his hand. Goes down and somehow gets a penalty.’
Posh wrote:
‘Wycombe looked like they had a couple more gears in them and passed it around with real confidence. In contrast we chased the game and suffered from some poor performances. They let us play second half just to conserve themselves even to the extent of subbing their best players. Bringing on Pittman showed a strength in depth which we just couldn’t match.’
marky No.1 wrote:
‘I think the simple word is ‘outclassed.’
MfcChris wrote:
‘A bright start until they got the penalty (which was a penalty). A player being clipped at the pace Ainsworth ran in is always going to have a great chance at getting a pen. Soft pen, but fair. After the 2nd went in they passed around us and played us like we were kids.’
Seasider9601 wrote:
‘Very impressed with Gareth ‘Lennie the Lion’ Ainsworth today. At 37, he sure looked like he still has what it takes. Could tell he’d played at a higher level.’
heysham mick wrote:
‘The way we’re playing – giving daft goals away and not starting to play until we’re 3-0 down – we look a poor side and we’re not safe yet.’
SW London Shrimp wrote:
‘The sooner this season’s over the better as far as I’m concerned.’
Next Game: Wycombe v Stockport – Sat 2nd April – 3.00pm
