Morecambe 1 Cheltenham Town 0 - FULL-TIME
Live updates from Jon Palmer at Christie Park
FULL-TIME: Cheltenham's plight continued as their winless run was extended to 11 matches at Morecambe this afternoon. The Robins were dire in the first half and were fortunate to go in only one goal down. There was a marked improvement in the second half and the introduction of Hayles and Alsop made a difference, but too many players in this team are not currently performing to the required standard for League football and it is going to be a long, hard winter for the club, who need to finalise the managerial situation as soon as possible in order to begin moving in the right direction because the current state of limbo is no use to anyone and acting boss Schofield is in an almost impossible position.
90 mins: Roach deflected over a Hayles shot in the 78th minute and Cheltenham had the ball in the net again from the resulting corner, but another infringement had taken place and Morecambe were awarded a free-kick. Marshall's free-kick from a promising position hit the wall as time ran out for the Robins. Labadie was shown a yellow card in the closing seconds for a reckless challenge on Garry Hunter, who was named as the home side's star performer.
75 mins: Hayles was bundled over right on the edge of the 18-yard box by Paul Mullin in the 68th minute. Bird's free-kick cannoned straight into Morecambe's defensive wall, but when the ball was returned to him, he lifted it over goalkeeper Roche, but Alsop was penalised for a foul as the ball bobbled into the net. Alsop desperately tried to rally Cheltenham, with some of the players looking rather sorry for themselves. David Hutton replaced Richards in the 75th minute as Cheltenham made their last throw of the dice.
65 mins: Pook was replaced by Alsop in the 57th minute and Hayles went on for Lewis at the same time as Schofield attempted to inject some life into Cheltenham. Within seconds Hayles went within inches of levelling with a snap shot in the 58th minute. Cheltenham looked altogether more threatening with Alsop and Hayles on the pitch and a Bird cross was headed towards goal by Marshall, but the ball was bundled around the post for a corner.
55 mins: Cheltenham remained unchanged for the start of the second period. Low's strong run down the left after good determination from Pook ended with a deft cross that was cleared for a corner. Pook was whole-hearted with his challenges as usual, but the midfielder's use of the ball was disappointing and he was not the only one. Marshall released Richards in the penalty area and his low delivery was about to creep in at the far post, but Andrew Parrish made an excellent clearance under pressure from Lewis as Cheltenham's best chance of the match so far arrived in the 55th minute as the heavens opened.
HALF-TIME: Cheltenham lacked any sort of sparkle during the first half at Christie Park and Morecambe have controlled the vast majority of the action. Schofield's plan may have been to frustrate the home side before opening up later on in the match, but Cheltenham are going to have to show much more adventure if they are to end their winless run, which stretches back more than two months. Notably, none of the Robins directors are present at the match as the future of suspended manager Martin Allen draws close to being resolved.
40 mins: Only a last ditch intervention from Kyle Haynes denied Jevons in the 31st minute after Michael Twiss had powered past Low on the Morecambe right flank. The resulting corner caused problems for Brown, who allowed it to bounce in the six-yard box, but the ball was eventually cleared inadvertently by an attacking player from almost underneath the bar. Former Manchester United youngster Twiss stung the palms of Brown with a long-range drive in the 35th minute as the home side remained on top. Brown fell on Stanley's free-kick from 35 yards in the 39th minute and a Cheltenham side clearly lacking in confidence struggled to string two passes together going forward.
30 mins: Ex-Cheltenham transfer target Phil Jevons went close in the 22nd minute, but his low shot was deflected wide and a goal kick was awarded, much to the frustration of the home crowd. LAURENCE WILSON opened the scoring in the 24th minute and it was a fine solo effort, but Cheltenham will be desperately disappointed not to have stopped a determiend run that started just inside his own half. The left winger burst past several half-hearted challenges before deceiving Scott Brown with a clever finish, which may have taken a deflection off a Robins defender as it rolled into the net.
20 mins: Cheltenham looked tenative with the ball on the greasy surface, but they looked relatively solid at the back. Loan additions Labadie and Marshall both showed some useful touches going forward, but the Morecambe goal was not threatened at all early on. Cheltenham survived a scare in the 20th minute when Stanley's free-kick was allowed into the six-yard box, but it was eventually scrambled to safety. Cheltenham attacked and Low's cross was volleyed well by Pook, but Barry Roche saved well to his right
10 mins: Morecambe enjoyed greater possession during the opening exchanges in gusty conditions on the North West coast. Craig Stanley's shot curled wide of the left upright in the ninth minute, but the offside flag was already raised. Cheltenham are yet to create anything meaningful going forward against a Shrimps side who looked intent to go from back to front very directly on their own turf.
TEAM NEWS: Cheltenham Town's acting manager John Schofield has handed Joss Labadie his Robins debut at Morecambe this afternoon.
The West Brom youngster will start in midfield with Michael Pook and David Bird, in a 4-3-3 formation, with Justin Richards, Theo Lewis and Ben Marshall up front in a shape similar to the one used with a degree of success at Port Vale in Schofield's first match in charge. Veteran front men Julian Alsop and Barry Hayles drop to the bench.
Lee Ridley and Michael Townsend both miss out with injuries, so Kyle Haynes will start at right-back with Josh Low switching to the left. Andy Gallinagh deputises for Townsend in the middle alongside Drissa Diallo.
Young goalkeeper Joe Perry is among the substitutes, filling the gap left by Barry Richardson, who is suspended for three matches following his part in the technical area fracas at Lincoln seven days ago.
Cheltenham are without a win in 10 matches, but they were victorious on their last visit to Morecambe, knocking the Shrimpers out of the FA Cup at the second round stage a last December.
Morecambe are unchanged from their midweek FA Cup exit at the hands of Carlisle United and are expected to line-up with a 5-3-2 formation.
Morecambe: B Roche; D Artell, C Stanley, M Twiss, G Hunter, P Jevons, I Craney (N Wainwright 60), L Wilson, P Mullin (W Curtis 90), A Parrish, W Haining. Subs: S Davies, D Moss, D Adams, M Duffy, H McStay.
Cheltenham Town: S Brown; K Haynes, A Gallinagh, D Diallo, J Low; D Bird, M Pook (J Alsop 57), J Labadie; B Marshall, J Richards (D Hutton 75), T Lewis (B Hayles 57). Subs: J Perry, E Hammond, M Watkins, J Quaynor.
Referee: A Bratt.
Attendance: 1,567 (122 from Cheltenham).
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