Morecambe 2 Brackley Town 0: A return to winning ways
Morecambe picked up an important three points with victory over Brackley Town at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium on Tuesday.
Goals from Jack Nolan and Maldini Kacurri gave the Shrimps their fourth league win of the season.
Morecambe boss Ashvir Singh Johal made three changes to the team that lost at York City, with Ludwig Francillette, Gwion Edwards and Nolan replacing the injured Joe Nuttall, the suspended Miguel Azeez and Lewis Payne, who dropped to the bench.
With four wingers in the side, it was perhaps no surprise that Morecambe started the game on the front foot with Jake Cain seeing an early volley deflected wide.
Nolan then gave the Shrimps a 25th-minute lead as he received the ball on the edge of the Brackley area and let fly with a low left-footed shot that flew into the bottom left-hand corner of Jonny Maxted’s goal.
Morecambe continued to push forward from there as Nolan almost converted Ben Tollitt’s cross and Emmerson Sutton saw a goalbound shot well blocked by Riccardo Calder.
Nolan again came close to doubling the Shrimps’ lead on the stroke of half-time, when a shot heading for the bottom corner brought a fine save from Maxted.
Brackley started the second half on the front foot and thought they had equalised on the hour, when Shane Byrne headed home from close range but saw his effort ruled out for offside.
It was a moment that gave the Shrimps a lift and they doubled their lead 20 minutes from time.
Kacurri scored his first goal for the club, hammering home the loose ball after Maxted had saved well from Cain’s free-kick.
The Shrimps went on to manage the game well, Nolan seeing a long-range effort fizzing inches wide of the target as they saw it through and took the points.
Morecambe: Blackman, Kacurri, Francillette, Songo’o, Tollitt, Cain (Raikhy 90), Sangare, Sutton (Panayiotou 90), Edwards (Campbell 82), Nolan, Muskwe (Payne 90). Subs not used: Mair, Aarons, Sesay.
Brackley Town: Maxted, Lyttle, Dean, Lilly (Morrison 9), Calder, Nottingham (Stewart 74), Pollock (Brown 82), Byrne, Stewart, Roberts, Hall (Waldron 90). Subs not used: Gregory, Price, Haynes.
Referee: Melissa Burgin.
Attendance: 2,231.