Rushden & Diamonds 4 Morecambe 1

MORECAMBE'S trip to Rushden and Diamonds proved to be anything but glittering as the conference leaders ran wild at Nene Park.

While old boy Justin Jackson was the player the Shrimps feared most, it was his strike partner, experienced goalscorer Duane Darby who put the Shrimps to the sword.

Darby put the Diamonds ahead on 22 minutes, carefully lifting the ball over Mark Smith after a scrappy start to the game.

Morecambe had a chance to get back on terms within minutes, but Dave McKearney's penalty was well saved by former Northampton keeper Billy Turley.

However, a spot kick at the other end of the field allowed Rushden the chance to double their lead.

Darby was again the man to step up and he made no mistake.

Rushden began to show the form which has left them in with a great chance of claiming an elusive conference title and promotion to the football league and put Morecambe on the back foot in the minutes around half time.

Darby completed his hat trick after an attempt by Smith to clear a long through ball saw him manage only an air kick.

Morecambe were not helped by the fine form of Rushden keeper Billy Turley, who kept the Shrimps' forwards at bay with a series of impressive stops.

However, John Norman managed to find a way past Turley with a header from Ryan-Zico Black's free kick.

But then Jon Brady took advantage of another Smith error to complete the rout.

And, to cap a bad day all round, defender Jamie Murphy was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The only minor victory for the Shrimps was their success in keeping old boy Jackson quiet.

After a disappointing game, the pacey frontman went off on 79 minutes, meaning he has still not scored against his old side.

Morecambe now have a packed week of action ahead as they seek to complete their fixtures.

Today (Thursday) , they travel to Nuneaton Borough again for a re-arranged league game. Saturday sees Dover travel to Christie Park while an Easter Monday fixture in London will see the Shrimps take on the side immediately above them in the table, Hayes.

Just to complicate matters a little more, Morecambe must fit in a game against Doncaster Rovers after Thursday's fixture was called off due to rain.