Jim Bentley priases ‘superb’ Morecambe display

Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2018 by PA

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley was full of praise for his side after their dramatic 1-0 victory over Northampton at the Globe Arena.

A-Jay Leitch-Smith’s first goal for the Shrimps in first-half injury time was enough to give them their first win of the season but it was midfielder Alex Kenyon’s heroics as a late replacement goalkeeper after Barry Roche’s dismissal that caught the attention of the Shrimps’ boss.

He said: “Alex has always fancied himself a a keeper and has bought his own gloves and everything. He has done it before for us and I was delighted to see him make two brilliant saves at the death because to have lost the points after dominating the game for so long would have been an absolute killer.’’

After three straight defeats without a goal, Bentley praised his side’s display overall saying: “The lads were superb tonight and I am so pleased for them.

“We have had a bit of stick this season and not had the start we wanted but I have said a few times that I have seen signs of things beginning to gel and that came to the fore tonight because some of the football was superb and if it hadn’t have been for their keeper we would have won by more.’’

Cobblers manager Dean Austin said he was frustrated with his side’s lack of endeavour.

He said: “We started the game OK but you could see that our pressing wasn’t there and our intensity wasn’t there and as a team we were too easy to play against and we had to ride our luck as our keeper made a couple of unbelievable saves.

“I was looking forward to the half-time whistle so we could regroup and put a few things right but then we gave away the most bizarre goal when we tried to smash a 70-yard ball with seconds to go in the half and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

“Overall it was a really frustrating night because we got out worked and out fought and we need to do better. This squad is too good to be struggling in this league but if you don’t compete at this level you won’t get the results you need. If you think you just need to turn up to win games you will be hurt.”