Mainy’s Verdict: Honours even at the Wham Stadium as Accrington come back from two down to draw with Morecambe

Sky Bet League 1

Accrington Stanley 2-2 Morecambe

Bishop 35 Ayunga 14,26

Nottingham 45+4

What happened

Accrington Stanley came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with rivals Morecambe at the Wham Stadium today.

Two goals from Jonah Ayunga in the first 30 minutes gave the Shrimps the lead, but Stanley pegged them back with goals from Colby Bishop and Michael Nottingham before the end of the first half.

The hosts started the game on the front foot, and came close early on when Ross Sykes’ strike was tipped over by Trevor Carson on six minutes.

The Shrimps took the lead eight minutes later when Cole Stockton was through on goal and his shot was blocked, and Ayunga put away the rebound.

Matt Butcher’s effort was deflected over the bar by the head of Ryan Cooney in the 22nd minute, and Morecambe doubled their lead four minutes later when Stockton put the ball through the legs of a midfielder before playing it out wide to Ayunga, who cut through from the right and buried the ball into the bottom-left corner.

Accrington got a goal back on 35 minutes when Bishop headed home from a corner, and their comeback was complete in the last kick of the first half when Nottingham headed home on the end of a free kick on the left-hand side.

Stockton nearly regained the lead for Morecambe on 53 minutes when his effort was tipped over, and he blasted just wide six minutes later following a good move on the left from Jacob Bedeau.

The Shrimps rode their luck at times in the second half, and were put under a lot of pressure but they survived Accrington’s advances.

Stephen Robinson’s side came ever so close to winning it at the death when substitute Adam Phillips put the ball in from a tight angle on the left and it took a slight touch off Ayunga and it went just wide of the mark.

The Shrimps remain just one point below the drop, but AFC Wimbledon, who sit 20th have a game in hand.

Talking points

It was a scrappy but entertaining game in tough weather conditions

It was probably the coldest I’ve felt at a game this season bar the Buxton game. It does partly serve me right for only wearing two layers though! It was windy, but the ball was still up in the air quite a bit and was rather unpredictable. I felt we took our goals well, and could’ve had one or two more and Accrington’s goals were poor goals to concede but they weren’t a bad side and I can’t say John Coleman’s side deserved to lose.

Another top performance from Jonah Ayunga!

Jonah was amazing last week, and he was very effective again today. He’s growing into the role that Robinson wants him to play in, and he’s becoming much more of a threat. He’s showing more confidence to shoot on sight and go with his gut instinct and I’m pleased for him! I actually thought our whole front line were excellent today, Stockton held up the ball really well and was quite good going forward with the ball as well and Arthur Gnahoua looked good too.

Michael Nottingham was solid at the back for Accrington

I thought that Michael Nottingham was excellent at the back for the hosts. He won a lot in the air, and caused a lot of problems for our forwards. He is certainly someone I’d love in a Morecambe team, tall, physical and strong.

The loss of Liam Gibson was a major blow

The manner in which Rhys Bennett made his debut was bizarre. He wasn’t originally in the matchday squad, but Alfie McCalmont got injured in the warm-up so he was added to the bench, and shortly after Ayunga’s second goal he came on as Liam Gibson had to come off injured. Judging by Robinson’s post-match interview, he may be out for some time. Bedeau moved to left-back, and Bennett partnered O’Connor at centre-half and we looked a lot more vulnerable. Bennett looked nervous, and quite frankly was really poor first half but he was much better in the second. With Greg Leigh on international duty, and due to miss Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday as well, it looks like Bedeau could be starting at left-back in the next game.

The referee had an atrocious game

I thought Sam Purkiss made some really poor and baffling decisions today. A lot of them went against us admittedly. There looked to have been a foul on Trevor Carson for the first goal and potentially the second too, and I felt that he didn’t deal with Harry Pell in the right way. Pell was one of a few Accrington players who appeared to be trying to provoke a reaction from a few Morecambe players, and it looked like they were trying to get Stockton and Ayunga to react and then get them sent off. It’s the same tactic they deployed when Peter Murphy once provoked a reaction from Jamie Devitt at the Mazuma in a previous game a few years ago, and Devitt got sent off. I thought last week’s ref was bad, and it’s hard to decide which one was worse frankly!

Player ratings

Trevor Carson 7 – Made some good saves, his distribution was a bit off from time to time but understandable in the wind. I noticed he was always looking to offload quickly when he had the ball in his hands which was good sometimes but not so good other times.

Ryan Cooney 7 – Put in a good shift at right-back, striking the right balance between attack and defence.

Anthony O’Connor 7.5 – Some great blocks and interceptions as usual and a well timed tackle in the second half inside the box.

Jacob Bedeau 8 – Put in a great shift, was excellent at both centre-back and left-back. Had his work cut out at left-back, but dealt with the threat that John O’Sullivan posed really well.

Liam Gibson 7.5 – Was having a great game until he got injured, and it was a big blow when he was forced to come off.

Toumani Diagouraga 7 – Excellent on the ball, some good interceptions and build-up play.

Aaron Wildig 7 – Had a decent game, added a bit to the attack from midfield.

Shane McLoughlin 7.5 – Did well in both boxes, and showed great energy yet again.

Jonah Ayunga 8 – Took his two goals really well and was a great threat on the right.

Cole Stockton 7.5 – Did what he does really well. Holding up the ball, starting attacks and putting in 100%.

Arthur Gnahoua 7 – Had a fairly decent game, was good on the ball. Just needs a bit more confidence in front of goal.

Subs

Rhys Bennett 6 – Was really poor in the first half after coming on, but was much improved in the second half and won a fair bit in the air.

Adam Phillips 6.5 – Showed some good signs when he came on, and nearly got an assist.

Accrington Stanley: Savin, Clark, Nottingham, Sykes, Amankwah, O’Sullivan, Pell, Butcher, Hamilton, McConville, Bishop (Rich-Baghuelou 45),

Booked: Butcher and Rich-Baghuelou

Subs not used: Rodgers, Mansell, Isherwood, Longelo, Nolan, Morgan.

Attendance: 3,527