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Bentley says sorry after woeful finish
Morecambe skipper Jim Bentley apologised to fans after his side finished their best-ever Football League season in the worst possible fashion, with a heavy defeat.
After seeing his side sign off the campaign so poorly, Bentley said: "We wanted to finish the season in style for our supporters.
"They turned out in good numbers for the game and we let them down.
"We were flat for much of the game, and it was a really disappointing end to a good season overall.
"Bournemouth are a good side and I fancy them to be up there next year, but we made things far too easy for them.
"We had a couple of chances, and if one of them had gone in earlier then it may have been a different story. But we all know that that performance simply wasn't good enough.
"To be fair to the lads, they knew it wasn't good enough. But it is such a shame to end the season in that way when we were all hoping for so much more."
Two goals from Brett Pitman, who took his tally for the season to 18, inspired the Cherries, who had virtually guaranteed the points by the break.
They took the lead after just seven minutes when Danny Hollands swung over a right- wing corner, and Joel Ward beat the flat-footed Barry Roche to the ball and headed home from close range.
Shrimps hit back, with Diarmuid O'Carroll being denied by former Morecambe loan keeper Shwan Jalal twice in quick succession, while
Wayne Curtis floated an effort just wide after neat approach play.
But the Cherries should have gone 2-0 up just before the half-hour, when Roche saved superbly from Pitman and then got up to make an excellent second save from Josh Goulding's follow-up.
Goulding's blushes were spared on 35 minutes though by pacey winger Liam Feeney, who made it 2-0 with a superb strike past Roche. To make matters worse, Pitman gave the Cherries a 3-0 half-time lead with a superb goal on the turn.
The second half belonged to the Cherries, who extended their lead 20 minutes from time when Rhoys Wiggans crossed from the left and Pitman steamed in at the far post to slam home the loose ball.
Wayne Curtis forced Jalal into another neat save at the other end, but it was too little too late for the disappointing Shrimps.
Morecambe: Roche 6; Parrish 6, Bentley 6, Artell 6, Adams 6, Duffy 7, Drummond 6, Twiss 5 (Taylor 66), McLachlan 6 (McStay 76), Curtis 6, O'Carroll 7 (Blinkhorn 76). Subs (not used): Davies, Howard
Bournemouth: Jalal 7; Bradbury 7, Wiggins 7, Ward 7, Pearce 8; Hollands 8, Partington 7, Feeney 8, McQuoid 7 (Molesley 73), Goulding 7 (Fletcher 82), Pitman 8 (Webb 85). Subs (not used): Garry, Robinson
Attendance: 2,601
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Friday 25 May 2012
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