Chelsea 5 Morecambe 0: Shrimps' pride intact despite heavy defeat
The Shrimps may have tasted defeat at Stamford Bridge in this FA Cup third-round tie but it was a day to remember, as they earned plenty of plaudits for their efforts against Premier League giants Chelsea.
More than 3,000 Shrimps' fans travelled to the capital to see Derek Adams' side pit their wits against the eight-time FA Cup winners for the second time in four years, and although there was no fairytale ending, there was plenty of pride all round.
Morecambe made life tough for Chelsea in the first half, only conceding once in the 39th minute as a strike by Tosin Adarabioyo, who had earlier hit the outside of the post with a header, took a huge deflection off Callum Jones to beat Harry Burgoyne, who had earlier produced a superb penalty save from Christopher Nkunku.
Burgoyne, who was once part of a Wolves team that produced a major FA Cup shock with victory over Liverpool at Anfield, then excelled again with another full stretch save to tip away an effort from Joao Felix that was heading for the bottom corner.
At the other end the Shrimps had their moments too. Ben Tollitt had created a couple of openings after some sharp counter attacks in the first 45 minutes, forcing home keeper Filip Jorgensen into a save after cutting in from the right wing and hitting a left-foot shot on target.
It was a first-half display that was strong enough to leave Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca feeling uncomfortable enough to make three changes at the break that seemed to give the home side even more of a threat.
The second goal of the game always felt like it was going to be vital and it was Chelsea who claimed it on 50 minutes.
Burgoyne again came to the Shrimps' rescue initially when he saved smartly from Renato Veiga's powerful effort but the ball fell perfectly for Nkunku, who slotted home the rebound.
The Shrimps had a glimpse of a chance on the jour mark when Jordan Slew picked up a loose ball and forced Jorgensen into a save.
But from there Chelsea enjoyed a period of dominance. Substitute Marc Cucurella, found the side netting with an effort from inside the box, before Adarabioyo scored his second from distance with a shot that sneaked through a crowd of players to beat the wrong-footed Burgoyne.
The Shrimps hit back with substitute Adam Lewis firing in a cross which the Chelsea keeper failed to claim, but the Premier League stars showed their class with a ruthless counter-attack which ended with Joao Felix adding a fourth with a low strike from the edge of the area on 75 minutes.
Two minutes later, Felix scored again with a superb individual goal as he curled an effort into the top corner from the left hand side of the area after a piece of superb individual skills to set up a chance.
To their credit Morecambe battled on and went close to scoring when Harvey Macadam beat Jorgensen to the ball but saw his goalbound header cleared off the line.
The Shrimps then had two great chances to score what would have been a celebrated consolation and a perfect way to end the day. Hallam Hope was played in on goal but could only shoot weakly straight at Jorgensen and Macadam blazed over when the ball fell perfectly for him in the box.
For the time being, the misses were put to one side as players and fans came together at the final whistle to celebrate another memorable day in the Shrimps' history.
Chelsea: Jorgensen, Disasi, James (Gusto 45), Tosin, Neto (Sancho 45), Veiga, Lavia (Cucurella 45), Joao Felix, Nkunku, George, Guiu.
Subs not used: Sanchez, Colwill, Acheampong, Enzo, Palmer, , Jackson.
Morecambe: Burgoyne, Hendrie, Williams, Stott, Tutonda, Edwards (A Lewis 68), Tollitt (Macadam 68), Dackers (Slew 53), Tutonda, Songo'o (Taylor 81), Jones (Hope 80).
Subs not used: Scales, Angol, P Lewis, Dobson.
Referee: A Kitchen.
Attendance: 38,998.