Derek Adams believes both sets of fans enjoyed Morecambe’s draw with Crewe Alexandra

Morecambe manager Derek Adams saw reasons to be cheerful following their draw with Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.
A-Jay Leitch-Smith was restored to the Morecambe line-up with Cole Stockton out injuredA-Jay Leitch-Smith was restored to the Morecambe line-up with Cole Stockton out injured
A-Jay Leitch-Smith was restored to the Morecambe line-up with Cole Stockton out injured

The Shrimps’ boss watched his players make it one defeat in the last 11 home matches after drawing 1-1 with their promotion-chasing visitors.

A match full of incident from start to finish saw the woodwork struck three times and a host of scoring opportunities, as well as goals from Aaron Wildig and Perry Ng – and a late red card for Adam Phillips.

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The crowd of 2,872 at the Globe Arena – Morecambe’s joint-third highest gate of the season – certainly had full value for their money despite blustery conditions.

“I think that’s why supporters come out to watch football matches,” Adams said.

“They come out to see teams getting forward, playing good football, creating chances and both teams did that today.”

Phillips’ stoppage-time red card for a cynical challenge on Ng threatens to leave the Shrimps without a key midfielder in their bid to ensure League Two safety.

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Any suspension would see him join Cole Stockton on the sidelines with the striker’s shoulder injury keeping him out for a number of weeks.

In Stockton’s absence, A-Jay Leitch-Smith was handed his first start since New Year’s Day.

He looked bright in the first half, though his contribution diminished after the break and saw him replaced by Harvey Bradbury, making his home debut for the Shrimps.

Adams said: “A-Jay hasn’t had a lot of game time recently.

“In the first half, he was making some intelligent runs to get on the ball.

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“Second half, he ran out of steam but Harvey Bradbury gave us a different option.”

Behind Leitch-Smith and Bradbury, Wildig continued his excellent goalscoring form of late with his third goal in four matches.

He was unlucky to only score once, having seen two efforts kept out with another sent into the 1,000-plus Crewe fans who made the trip.

However, he made no mistake when Will Jaaskelainen failed to deal with a cross.

“It was well-timed, it wasn’t an easy finish but I’m delighted for him,” Adams said.