Farnborough Town 3 Morecambe 1. MORECAMBE go into Saturday's battle with high-flying Woking without a new year point after their latest on the road defeat at Farnborough on Saturday. Two goals in the space of three minutes towards the end of the first half pegged back a buoyant Shrimps side and left them with a second half mountain they just couldn't climb. For the majority of the first half it was Morecambe making the running but they put themselves under pressure with a collective lapse in concentration just before the break.

In the 40th minute a hopeful cross into the Morecambe box managed to evade everyone except Farnborough's Steve Baker and although Shrimps 'keeper Glenn Johnstone did well to save his shot, the ball fell to Pat Gavin who tucked it away.

Within two minutes the home side doubled their lead when Johnstone's punch after a corner dropped at the feet of David Harlow and he was given time to volley back into the net.

Jim Harvey must have been pleased to see his side fight back straight away and get back into the game before the interval through Jim McCluskie who nodded home a Michael Knowles cross.

With both full backs getting forward - Knowles on the right due to the absence of Paul Burns and Ben Lavelle returning for his seventh spell at the club on the left - the comeback looked on but disaster struck in the 57th minute.

Anthony Hughes' pass out of defence was cut out by by Steve Baker and he crossed for Chris Booth to head past Johnstone.

Even at 3-1 down Morecambe had chances to pull the game back round and Coleman almost reduced the deficit when he beat MacKenzie but his shot was hacked off the line.

And had that gone in, the chance that both substitute Mark Ceraolo and Hughes missed in a goalmouth scramble with just five minutes left on the clock would have taken on even more importance. TEAM: Johnstone, Knowles, Lavelle, Tomlinson (Dullaghan), Hughes, Grimshaw, Horrigan, Comstive (Cain), Coleman, McCluskie (Ceraolo), Monk.

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