Marcus Braddock looks ahead to the Emirte
Shrewsbury Town head back to Montgomery Waters Meadow for the second round of the F.A. cup this weekend with Morecambe standing between us and round three. The Shrimps currently sit in 21st position after a difficult season but look to have stabilized in League two with just one defeat in a six game sequence that also included two wins and two draws. The last time Morecambe won was against Wycombe at home in League Two on November 11th and their last defeat was on November 21st when they lost 1-0 at home to Crewe. They got to this round of the cup via a 3-0 win at home to Hartlepool with Kevin Ellison, Andy Fleming scoring one each before an own goal put the tie beyond Hartlepool.
Top Scorers
Kevin Ellison 5
Adam McGurk 4
Steve Old 3
Garry Thompson 3
Goal Distribution
The first thing I noticed was that in away games, the Shrimps seem quite vulnerable in the middle fifteen minutes of both halves. Between the 15th and 30th minute they've conceded five times and between minutes 61-75 they've conceded four times. That's nine out of their fourteen away goals this season. They've kept it pretty tight in the last fifteen minutes of the game with only one goal conceded all season.
Clean Sheets
Five in League 2 and one in the F.A. Cup.
Referee - Craig Hicks
Assistants - Ravel Cheosiaua and Nicholas Barnard.
Fourth official - RobertMassey-Ellis
Squad News
Morecambe-Defender Sam Lavelle is suspended.
Shrewsbury-Abu Ogogo is serving the final game of his suspension, Junior Brown is still a long way from rehabilitation after his operation. Dean Henderson will sit this one out as Man United haven’t given him permission to play in the FA Cup.
Summary
Another difficult game made a little more interesting given our slight slip in form and The Shrimps slight improvement. Morecambe are more than capable of surprising use, a quick look through their goals shows a team able to pass it around nicely but also able to take advantage of sloppy defending. So we will have to be at our best or we will be punished. As an aside, it's nice to see Aaron Wildig returning, I remember him having a rather deft touch and it's good to see him settled with a good club.
Just a little reminder that Shrewsbury Town in the Community are asking fans to donate tinned food to the Shrewsbury Ark. The Ark is a safe drop in centre for homeless and vulnerable people, providing basic things that most people take for granted. A collection point will be at the football clubs main reception for the Morecambe game on 2nd December and the Blackpool Game on 16th December. I'll be dropping off a few tins, hasn't cost me a great deal but someone out there may be a little warmer thanks to you. Please give if you can, you could even pop into the local supermarket on your way to the game.
COYB!!!
Marcus Braddock