Shrimps begin new season with goalless draw

Saturday, 30 July 2022 19:50

The Shrimps picked up their first point of the new season with a goalless draw in a hard fought encounter with Shrewsbury Town at the Mazuma Stadium in League One.

A game that saw plenty of effort from both sides ended all square, with both team's defences standing firm.

Shrimps' boss Derek Adams named five debutants for the match, with new skippers Connor Ripley and Donald Love joined by Max Melbourne, Farrend Rawson and Ash Hunter, with all producing solid starts for their new Club.

Shrewsbury, who also had a much different side to the one that came to the Mazuma early last season, started the quicker.

New captain Luke Leahy clipped a shot wide on three minutes and, two minutes later, drilled an effort into the side netting from 10 yards out after the ball fell neatly on his left foot.

After surviving the early pressure, Morecambe settled into the game defensively and produced the game's best chance on 26 minutes.

A Shrewsbury attack broke down and Cole Stockton played in Dylan Connolly with a neat flick, only for the winger to see his final effort well saved by the sprawling Marko Marosi who raced from his goal to cut the angle down.

Shrewsbury had the better of the early exchanges in the second-half, with Tom Flanagan slicing two efforts wide from good openings, before Cotterill's side had their best effort on 66 minutes when a George Nurse volley deflected off Stockton's foot, eventually deflecting back off the crossbar.

The Shrews continued to press with Ryan Delaney denying Ryan Bowman a close range tap-in from a left-wing cross, before Julien Dacosta made a mess of a far post chance in the dying moments.

The Shrimps ended the game on the front foot, with Hunter flashing an effort wide and a Max Melbourne cross just evading a Morecambe player in the box.

Adams' men put on pressure right at the death and were denied an injury time winner when Matthew Pennington produced a superb 92nd minute block from Connolly's effort following another neat Stockton lay off.

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