Morecambe boss Jim Bentley hails ‘big three points’ against Macclesfield - 7M sport

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley hails ‘big three points’ against Macclesfield



Posted Sunday, September 23, 2018 by PA

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley hails ‘big three points’ against Macclesfield

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley was a happy man after his side sealed a vital three points with a 2-1 win over fellow League Two strugglers Macclesfield.

Bentley praised his side’s resilience after they overcame the challenge of a Macclesfield side reduced to 10 men for 52 minutes.

Michael Rose was given a straight red for a foul on Alex Kenyon in the first half before AJ Leitch-Smith opened the scoring after 61 minutes.

Veteran midfielder Danny Whitaker levelled for the visitors, but Andrew Fleming won it for Morecambe with 13 minutes remaining.

And after seeing his side win for only the second time this season, Bentley said: “It’s a massive relief and the players deserve a lot of credit.

“It’s been a difficult time lately but the lads kept battling and showed good spirit after Macclesfield came back into the game.

“It was a big three points for us without a doubt because it takes us closer to a few teams around us in the league and we can start looking up again.

“We were given an advantage by the sending off of Michael Rose, but it isn’t always easy to beat a side with 10 men.

“Swindon had a man sent off here a couple of weeks ago and we didn’t take advantage but this time we remained patient and kept stretching the play and we showed a calmness that was needed to win the game.

“To give the lads credit too, we stayed patient and kept our cool when they came back into it again and we did well to get the win with a great finish from Andy Fleming after a really good counter-attack.

“There were definitely things we could have done better and a better end-ball could have made things a little more comfortable for us, but I think we were worthy winners in the end and it was a massive boost for everyone around the club.”

Macclesfield boss Mark Yates, who is still seeking his first league win in charge of the Silkmen, believes his side were not helped by an early injury to Callum Evans, who was stretchered off with concussion.

“Callum’s injury was a real blow and the sending off came almost straight away,” Yates said.

“I thought Michael was unlucky because I thought he was fouled in the lead up to the red card, but it had a massive effect on the game.

“I thought we were slightly the better team until then but after that, we had to change our shape and look to do things differently.

“At half time we talked about the importance of keeping a clean sheet as we always thought we could do something with a set-piece ourselves, but their first goal was a joke and gave us a lot to do.

“We showed a bit of character to get back into it but then we gave away another poor goal from one of our attacks and that cost us the game.”

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