Morecambe 2 Southport 1

SUPER sub Jim McCluskie broke Morecambe's scoring duck on Tuesday night to give the Shrimps a superb victory in front of an appreciative home crowd. For 78 frustrating minutes Morecambe bobbed and weaved their way through the Southport defence but it seemed their goalscoring prowess had deserted them. The goal drought had lasted 275 minutes but seven minutes after coming on to the cheers of the home fans, McCluskie picked up on a great pass from Mark Shirley and slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner. The fans were ecstatic.

Seven minutes later a fantastic move along the left wing saw neat first time balls pierce the Southport defence to leave Brian Healy clear. He picked his spot and thundered the ball into the net. It was no less than Morecambe deserved after they had dominated much of the game and seen a penalty strike bounce back off the post.

With 31 minutes on the clock Michael Knowles twisted his way into the box and was tripped by David Gamble. Mike Bignall stepped up to take the spot kick and although he sent the keeper the wrong way his effort rebound across the face of the goal after hitting the upright.

It seemed the Shrimps would never score, earlier Leroy Dove had twice cleared off the line from Bignall and Monk, but Southport also had a chance or two with Andy Whittaker glancing a header just wide of the post.

Credit must go to Southport who fought in vain to get back into the match in the dying minutes. Steve Haw had a cracking volley which hit the cross bar and in injury time Dove got his head to a corner which was saved by McIlhargey, but the defender got his foot to the loose ball for a consolation goal.

The Shrimps could end up in fourth place at the end of the season which, while not quite enough for the big time, was more than enough for the fans who gave the players a standing ovation to round off the season at Christie Park.

Team: McIlhargey, Knowles, Burns, McKearney, Hodgson, Grimshaw, Healy, Bignall (McCluskie) Norman, Shirley. Subs: Drummond, Lavelle.

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