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Accrington 3 Morecambe 2
Morecambe boss Sammy McIlroy was again left frustrated by his side's poor record against Accrington as the Shrimps twice let a lead slip and slipped to their fourth defeat in six games.
In a fiercely-contested League Two derby, the Shrimps once again failed to overcome a Stanley side they had not beaten since 2004.
That jinx looked like it may be lifted when Dave Artell put the Shrimps 2-1 up early in the second half, but a fine free kick from Robert Grant and a superb strike from Jimmy Ryan made it another frustrating afternoon for McIlroy.
Said McIlroy: "We knew Accrington would be quickly out of the blocks and we coped with that really well. We started superbly and took the lead but then didn't press home the advantage. To go ahead twice and get nothing from the game is really disappointing.
"We started very well and could have been 2-0 up after 15 minutes but we didn't see the game through and I am really unhappy with two of their goals. We were in the driving seat at 2-1 but we defended too deep and let them back into it."
It all started well for the Shrimps as they put Stanley on the back foot, Will Haining hitting the post with a header after just three minutes. The pressure continued as Morecambe went ahead on 16 minutes when the recalled Neil Wainwright breezed past Tom Lees and crossed for Artell to slide home from close range.
But from there Stanley took the upper hand, with Bobby Grant a constant threat. And it was Grant who brought Stanley level on 27 minutes when he followed up the loose ball after a Michael Symes effort had been cleared off the line by Laurence Wilson.
Stanley continued to press with Symes being denied by an excellent Roche save, but it was Morecambe who took the lead for the second time early in the second half. Craig Stanley curled in a free-kick from the left and Artell nipped in front of his marker to volley past Dean Bouzanis.
The home side hit back again through for a second time and Grant levelled the scores once again with a trademark free-kick after a sloppy tackle from Wilson. Grant had little to aim for but he curled the ball perfectly into the bottom right hand corner of Roche's goal.
Both sides then had chances to add a third. Manny Panther fired wide from a great opening for Morecambe before Stanley moved up a gear.
Full report in Monday's Lancashire Evening Post
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Weather for Preston
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
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