Morecambe boss takes satisfaction from Grimsby Town victory

Morecambe boss Derek Adams said there were plenty of promising signs after his side beat Grimsby Town on penalties in their Carabao Cup tie.
Luke Conlan's future is in doubtLuke Conlan's future is in doubt
Luke Conlan's future is in doubt

Adams had named five debutants in the starting line-up for the Shrimps’ opening game of the season.

He was happy to see them keep their nerve to beat Ian Holloway’s charges 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.

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Adams said: “This was always going to be a difficult first game of the season. Grimsby is always a tough place to come to, and to come through it and win was a good start and what we were here to do.

“The first game of the season is always tough and we were not helped by a slow pitch which suited them better than us.

“While they looked to play a lot of diagonal passes we were trying to keep the ball on the floor and pass it around but the ball kept sticking and we had to find a way through that which we did.

“It took us a bit of time to get going but the fitness work we did in pre-season came through and we were the stronger team in the final stages of the game.

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“Although the match went to penalties I thought we kept our nerves well and it was great to get through the tie and get our name in the hat for the next round.”

One person missing from the Morecambe squad at Blundell Park was defender Luke Conlan.

Adams revealed that Conlan is a transfer target for AFC Fylde.

Adams said: “I left Luke out of the squad that travelled to Grimsby as he was speaking to Fylde.

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“I would like him to stay but he wanted the opportunity to speak to Fylde and we have let him do that.

“That is not to say it will go through because I would like to keep him but we will see how that plays out.”