Report, highlights & reaction: Accrington Stanley 3-1 Morecambe

Morecambe slipped to the bottom of the League One table after defeat in the Lancashire derby at the Wham Stadium.

Click here to listen to highlights, reaction and much more in the latest episode of The Shrimps Verdict Podcast

The 10 men of Morecambe left empty handed after the hosts netted three times in the second-half, following a controversial red card shown to forward Arthur Gnahoua just before the interval, after he was deemed to have used an elbow in an aerial challenge, endangering his opponent.

It was Derek Adams’ men who started the brighter, with a flurry of corners either side of a Kieran Phillips chance on seven minutes, before Stanley themselves won a couple of corner kicks in quick succession but were unable to capitalise.

The hosts first big chance of the game came on 18 minutes when Sean McConville found himself in space at the back post, but his glanced header rolled wide.

Harvey Rodgers came close to breaking the deadlock midway through the first half, but his headed effort from the corner was cleared on the line by former Stanley man Farrend Rawson.

It was then Morecambe’s turn to threaten, as Jake Taylor dribbled past a couple of Stanley defenders on 34 minutes, but his fierce strike from the edge of the box sailed narrowly wide.

Just before half-time, and the Shrimps received a sucker punch after Arthur Gnahoua was controversially red carded following an aerial challenge.

John Coleman’s side started the better in the second-half with Mitch Clark firing an effort narrowly beyond Ripley’s right-hand post on 53 minutes. 

Five minutes later and the hosts were able to break the deadlock. Moments after hitting the post, the ball fell to Liam Coyle who found the bottom-left corner.

Morecambe looked to respond midway through the second 45 as a looping Ryan Delaney header was caught high by goalkeeper Lukas Jensen to deny the Shrimps defender

With 77 minutes on the clock, the Shrimps found an equaliser. A breakdown of communication saw Ryan Astley lob his goalkeeper from distance, much to the delight of the travelling Morecambe supporters behind the goal.

No sooner were Morecambe back in the game, Ethan Hamilton reinstated Accrington’s lead with a low-driven free-kick.

Four minutes later and Coleman’s men wrapped up the points, Nolan dispossessed Dylan Connolly, stormed into the box and squared it for Tommy Leigh who made no mistake from close range.

Speaking after the game, manager Derek Adams said: “The sending off changes the game.

“It changes the flow of the game, it changes the aspect of the game where we come 11 against 10, and that becomes extremely difficult in any league that you’re in.

“I didn’t think there was much in the game, even 11 against 10, I don’t think there was much over the piece.

“When we got back to 1-1, it looked like we became the stronger team.

“Do I think we deserved to lose the game? No, because if it was 11 against 11, I think we would’ve had enough over the 90 minutes to get something from the game.”

He continued: “We’ve definitely got a lot of characters in the dressing room; we’ve got a lot of characters on the field.

“They [Morecambe] were just trying to get back in the game, they felt really hard done to at half time because they were down to 10 men.

“That obviously helped Accrington over the afternoon, and it enabled them to get that advantage.

“I think today has just put a knife right in the heart because these decisions are not going for us at this moment in time, and it’s setting us back.”