Derek Adams was pleased with his Morecambe side’s comeback to earn a point against Fleetwood Town.
The Shrimps clawed their way back into the game to earn their second point of the season following on from last week’s 3-3 draw with Colchester United. Despite adding to their tally for the season, they remain rooted at the foot of League Two, one point behind fellow winless side Accrington Stanley.
Fleetwood showed their prowess throughout much of the first half and claimed goals through Ryan Graydon and Ronan Coughlan to have a well-earned 2-0 lead at the break. Adams made four changes at the restart and looked more threatening as the game wore on.
Yann Songo’o scored 15 minutes from the end to give Morecambe a chance of a result, with Hallam Hope levelling the game at Highbury with four minutes to go. It was a damaging result for Charlie Adam’s side, seeing them slip Colchester and Chesterfield and four points outside the top seven.
Derek Adams spoke to the press after the game and was happy with the “fighting spirit” his side displayed to rescue a point. He said: “It was an interesting game tonight. I thought we started very well in the game. We had a very good opportunity with Harvey (Macadam), then we hit the bar but Fleetwood got their opportunity from it.
“They went 2-0 ahead, at half-time we made four substitutions, we changed the way we were playing, became more direct. Later in the second half we just looked like we were going to get a goal. Once we got the first, we got the second through Hallam, obviously Yann got us back into it.
“It gave us that belief. We knew at that stage in the game, similar to the Colchester game, they had gone and backed off and allowed us the space.
“The fighting spirit, the togetherness, is there for everyone to see. I thought our supporters were magnificent throughout the night the way they sang from start to finish was delightful.
A massive decision for The Shrimps was to make four substitutions at half-time. Former Lincoln City man Lee Angol and Harvey Macadam were brought off in the attack, with Liverpool loanee Rhys Williams and Callum Jones also making way.
The changes that Adams made turned out to change the game, with Jordan Slew, on loan Salford City man Marcus Dackers and Hallam Hope all contributing to the comeback for Morecambe. The Bajan international was brought on with 10 minutes to go in place of Ross Millen.
Discussing the thought process behind the half-time switches, the ex-Bradford City boss explained: “I needed to change personnel. Fleetwood were getting too much success against certain personnel so I had to change that.
We went a wee bit more direct in the second half and that eventually paid off for us.
Writer’s View
Despite it only being a point, it feels like a statement of intent for Morecambe going forward. Fighting back against a team that was in League One last season away from home is no easy feat but through Adams’ tactical changes, he completely flipped the match on its head. Even if Fleetwood allowed them to get at them in the final stages of the game, it was up to The Shrimps to crack the defence which they did and got a well-earned point out of it.
After back-to-back home games against Notts County and his former side in Bradford, Derek Adams will prepare his men for a clash between the two bottom sides in the fourth tier, away to Accrington Stanley. With the severe damage done to AFC Wimbledon’s pitch following flooding, John Doolan’s side will likely have a break next weekend before a doubleheader against Cheltenham Town and their fellow Lancastrian side. A win for either side will be crucial for their fortunes heading towards the festive period.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
