It was torture at times – Bentley relief as Morecambe claim valuable win

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley described his side’s clash with Crawley as “horrible” and “torture” but was left a happy man after seeing them claim a late winner against their fellow relegation battlers.

Bentley’s men snatched three valuable points from a hard-fought encounter thanks to Liam Mandeville’s 82nd-minute header, but the Shrimps manager admitted his team did it the hard way.

He said: “It was a horrible game to be involved in and I’m glad it is over I must admit because it was torture at times.

“It was really hard to watch and although I wasn’t happy with certain aspects of our performance I am delighted with the win and the points.

“Far too often I have said this year that we haven’t got what we deserved after good performances. Today was the other way round. They changed their shape and played some good stuff, especially in the first half.”

Morecambe moved up to 18th spot on 45 points with the win, sitting nine points above the League Two relegation places.

Crawley, meanwhile, drop to 20th on 43 points after suffering a third successive loss.

Bentley added: “It was a massive game for both clubs and you just hoped you could get the result any way it comes.

“They had better chances than us but it was all about us getting over the line and it was a magnificent win at this stage of the season and takes us a step closer to safety.

“We found a way to win today and that was great. We battled and we competed all over the pitch and we got the clean sheet which was massive.’’

Second-half substitute Mandeville netted the only goal of the game when he headed Zak Mills’ cross past Glenn Morris from eight yards out to give the Shrimps  a third successive home win.

Crawley looked the more likely to break the deadlock for long periods with Reece Grego-Cox producing a superb overhead kick only to see his strike the top of the crossbar.

Morecambe keeper Barry Roche was also forced into a fine save after 24 minutes when Ashley Nathaniel-George drilled in a low shot and Ollie Palmer was inches away with connecting with Joe Maguire’s left-wing cross.

Chances were then at a premium before Mandeville tested Morris with a curler before heading home the vital winner with his first goal since September.

A deflated Crawley manager Gabriele Cioffi felt his side produced some good football but did not match the “heart” shown by their hosts.

He said: “Morecambe had more heart than us and that is what won them the game.

“We played some good football but it doesn’t mean much if you give away goals like we did today.

“At times like this you have to show heart to close down the cross and we didn’t do that.

“I had to change the side because of some big injuries and we did show some quality. We had the better chances but the first mistake we made gave them a goal.

“A lot of other results went against us today and means we have six cup finals to come and we have to be ready for them.

“It doesn’t matter about the performances now it is the results that count and we have to make sure everyone knows that as we are fighting for our lives.”