Morecambe boss targets swift revenge against Mansfield

The sides meet for the second time in less than two weeks this weekend with The Shrimps hoping to put to bed one of the lowest points of their season.

Bentley’s men were seemingly on course for victory leading 1-0 with five minutes to play before a remarkable conclusion saw them surrender three points with a 2-1 defeat at the Globe Arena.

It wasn’t the only crazy end to a recent game for The Shrimps with goalkeeper Barry Roche scoring a dramatic late equaliser against Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

The Shrimps boss said: “It was a bizarre end to that game similar to what it was against Portsmouth.

“I don’t think we deserved to lose the game but we did.

“Now it’s a case of going there and the lads should be knocking walls down to get at them because I certainly am.

“I want a response to get the three points.

“We don’t want any team to do the double over us so it’s a big game.”

Follow Mansfield v Morecambe with Shrimps LiveOne boost for The Shrimps is that Stags top scorer Matt Green is missing after being sent off in the win over Crawley on Saturday.

Bentley said: “I thought he was very good against us.

“He’s had a good season. He was a bit of a marquee signing in the summer and is the top scorer.

“Any team is going to miss a player like that and hopefully it will give us a little bit of an advantage because he’s one of the best around in the division.

“But it does open the door for someone else to come in and we’ve got to be ready.

“They’ve got good players all over the park. They’ve done a little bit of wheeling and dealing on transfer deadline day in the full back area and they’ve got players who can cause problems.

“I know we can cause them problems though like we did on that Tuesday night.”

Despite being without a win in four Bentley is hoping Roche’s remarkable goal in the 93rd minute that sealed a 1-1 draw can help get his side heading back in the right direction.

He said: “I do honestly think we’re not far away.

“People might think I’m a little bit biased or a little bit silly.

“We didn’t deserve to lose the games against Mansfield and Newport and it could be a different story if we’d had a bit of luck or just kept that bit of concentration at the back.

“To get the equaliser in the manner that we did though it puts points on the board and just changes the feeling around the place.

“Hopefully it’s broken the cycle and we can get back to winning ways.

“We’re not in a bad position but we do need a couple of wins.”

Aaron Wildig and Alex Kenyon are closer to returns than Aaron McGowan, all three having been battling hamstring problems.

Charlie Bailey and Nathan Bondswell will also come back into the reckoning after their loan spells at Kendal ended.

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