IT'S a shame that Morecambe have been denied the chance to sign Japanese maestro Keisuke Takano - on this evidence they could do with some oriental arts. Their home form continued to suffer on Saturday when they failed to take charge of the game and fell behind in their pursuit of leaders Halifax. Both teams failed to make much headway for long periods with strong, swirling winds ruining attempts to play attacking football.

But Hayes began to dominate the game in the second half, especially after they scored their first through diving header from Darren Wilkinson on 57 minutes.

Shrimps' keeper Steve McIlargey had no chance with the second goal on 73 minutes. Brian Hammatt curled a superb right foot shot in the top corner to make the points safe for the visitors.

The home side had a good penalty shout in the first half when Michael Knowles looked to be pushed over in the penalty area. But, to the disbelief of the crowd, the referee failed to respond to the pleas for a penalty from the Morecambe players.

But after the first goal the Shrimps never looked like getting among the points.

It looks like the Shrimps' plans to sign Keisuke Takano have been denied because of the employment law for non-Europeans. But the club will not give up in their attempt to beat the employment laws. The player, in the country as a student, is not allowed to play in front of paying spectators according to the department of the environment.

Now the Shrimps are waiting for written confirmation of the decision and are considering applying for a work permit for the player.

"We will not be deterred in our efforts to explore all possibilities to gain Department of Employment clearance for the player and hope the matter will be resolved in the not too distant future," said a club spokesman.

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