Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Morecambe.
The Opposition
Morecambe Football Club have shown it isn’t over until it is over, with the return of Jim Bentley seeing them rise to within touching distance of a shot of survival.
The Shrimps’ 18-year stay in the EFL came to an end with a bottom-placed finish last term, with relegation to the National League being confirmed following a 3–1 home defeat to Salford City amid a host of off-the-pitch issues at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium, and led to a chaotic summer and a delayed start to the current campaign.
The appointment of Ashvir Singh Johal brought the hope of a new era for the Lancashire-side, with the former Wigan Athletic and Como assistant replacing long-serving manager in the Derek Adams, but the hopes failed to match the reality, with the Shrimps winning just four times in his entire tenure, as well as falling to 18 defeats.
Singh Johal had built his squad from the ground up, with just five players available at the time of his appointment, having lost the likes of joint-top scorer Lee Angol to Cheltenham Town, along with Adam Lewis, David Tutonda and Ross Millen, the former of which played more times than anyone else with a whopping 52 appearances. Ben Tollitt is the only players who remained from last season, with Singh Johal bringing in no less than 26 players since arriving, including a host of English football experience combined with young players from the top two divisions, as well as players from across Europe and even Asia.
And while he certainly entered the role at a disadvantage, the 30-year old was unable to get the supporters or players onside, with Bentley already picking up more points in his brief stint back at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium than in Singh Johal’s final nine games. Wins over Eastleigh and Wealdstone have propelled the Shrimps back to within a shout of safety, while the mid-season arrival of Chris Popov has helped to ease the goalscoring onus on Jack Nolan, who together have notched 18 goals between them, being followed by Admiral Muskwe (5), Tollitt (4) and Miguel Azeez (4).
As such, their upturn in form has led to renewed confidence within the Morecambe camp, and they arrive at Sutton in the hope they can close the gap on Brackley Town in 20th sooner rather than later.
The Manager
Jim Bentley
Jim Bentley returned to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium after six years away, tasked with saving Morecambe from the drop zone after the chaotic tenure under Ashvir Singh Johal.
Hailing from Liverpool, Bentley began his playing career in the Manchester City academy before making the switch to Telford United, where he remained for five years. He departed Shropshire in 2002 though, having appeared 75 times for the Bucks, before embarking on a long-term stint with Morecambe, a club he soon became most closely associated with.
The centre back went on to appear over 300 times for the Shrimps, notably captaining them in the Conference National play-off final, with Morecambe beating Exeter City 2-1 to win promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history.
Eight years later after joining, Bentley was appointed player-coach having spent the previous season in a coaching role within the reserve team, and saw him make the transition into management that led to his retirement from playing in 2011 to take on the permanent role in charge at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.
He subsequently spent eight years in the dugout on the Lancashire Coast, becoming the longest serving manager in the top four tiers of English football when Paul Tisdale left Exeter in 2018, and saw him take charge of more than 400 games.
Bentley opted to resign from his post in 2019 though to become the new manager at AFC Fylde, lasting three years in the role, before further stints at Rochdale and Southport saw him enjoy increased success with the latter, being awarded Manager of the Month after overseeing a turnaround form that saw them rise from the foot of the National League North table.
Two years after he arrival at Haig Avenue, Bentley was dismissed by the Sandgrounders, but rejoined Morecambe a little under a year later, guiding the club back to within touching distance of safety after picking up three draws and two wins.
One to Watch
Chris Popov
Chris Popov has taken to life at Morecambe like a duck to water, firing home seven goals in just nine games since arriving on loan from Leicester City.
Born in Cardiff, Wales, Popov began his career in the esteemed Manchester United academy before departing in 2021 to join Leicester. He made his senior debut for the Foxes in a 4-0 EFL Trophy win over Tranmere Rovers, before departing to Barrow three days for his first senior loan.
His time in Cumbria saw him make 11 appearances in League Two, making his league debut the day after signing in a 1-0 win over Harrogate Town, and allowed him to gain valuable experience within men’s football that has given him the platform required to hit form now at Morecambe.
After spending the opening half of the campaign back with Leicester’s youth setup, Popov joined Morecambe towards the end of January and made his debut on the same day in a 1-0 defeat to FC Halifax Town. It took him just four games to find the net though, notching the Shrimps’ only goal in a 2-1 loss against Truro City before doing so again the same week against Tamworth.
He soon secured his name in all the headlines though, with two goal contributions in their 4-0 win over Eastleigh that propelled them back towards safety, before notching a hat-trick in Morecambe’s dramatic 4-4 draw with Gateshead.
Internationally, Popov has represented Wales at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 level, receiving 21 caps in total, while he is also eligible to play for Bulgaria.
Recent Form
Wealdstone 2-3 Morecambe
Morecambe 0-1 York City
Gateshead 4-4 Morecambe
Morecambe 4-0 Eastleigh
Southend United 5-1 Morecambe
Morecambe 2-2 Tamworth
Last Time Out
A brace from Jack Nolan and a goal from Chris Popov secured the three points on the road against Wealdstone.
A fast start to proceedings for Wealdstone as Junior Tiensia drove down the left-hand side, he was brought down by Lewis Payne who was shown a yellow card. The following free kick was then put into the area, the first ball was initially cleared by Gwion Edwards, it was then put back into the box, and turned home by Oluefla Olamola to put the hosts ahead.
However, Morecambe responded superbly before the half was out with Nolan stepping up to take a corner that found Liam Hogan at the back post, whose header back across goal was turned home by Popov to make it 1-1. Jamal Blackman was there to keep the scores level when Olufela Olomola saw a clear sight of goal, and the Shrimps took full advantage when on the stroke of half-time, Mo Sangare picked up the ball deep into the Stones’ half, found Nolan and he made no mistake dancing round his man to slot home to give the visitors the lead.
Morecambe took their momentum into the second half, with a quick counter attack seeing Miguel Azeez find Nolan darting into the Wealdstone area, he kept his composure and rounded Dante Baptiste to make it 3-1.
Wealdstone weren’t done yet though, and found their second in the 72nd minute through Micah Obiero when a cross put into the box wasn’t dealt with and it was tapped home from close distance.
The hosts had the chance to equalise in the 85th minute but a strong diving save from Jamal Blackman denied them. Following this, Lewis Payne was shown a second yellow and was sent off, but the Shrimps continued to defend until the end and take all three points back to the Lancashire Coast.
