Jim Bentley: Morecambe’s survival is in one hand

Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2018 by PA

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley remains confident his side will secure their Football League status, despite a goalless draw at home to Cambridge doing little to ease their relegation concerns.

A win would have left the Shrimps safe with two games of the season to go, but a point lifts them five clear of the bottom two with a crunch game to come against second-bottom Barnet on Saturday.

Bentley said: “It was another game that told the story of our season really. We played some good stuff but failed to score again which has been our Achilles heel all season.

“We looked really solid at the back, though, and kept another clean sheet but it was another game where we only took a point when it could have been more.

“A win would have made us safe and we were desperate for the victory, but a point takes us a step closer.

“The point just prolongs the tension for us all, but in the end it could be another vital point for us.

“We know what we need to do now in our final two games and it’s in one hand, but if we show the effort and commitment we showed tonight we should be OK.”

Cambridge caretaker boss Joe Dunne said: “It was a tough game against a side who had everything to play for as they were fighting to secure their League status, so I’m happy with the effort the lads gave.

“It’s been a really tough week for us in terms of games played and a lot of travelling and this was a really tough game for us against a team who are well-organised and fighting for everything.

“But we defended well and our goalkeeper had the almost perfect debut with some good saves, though he was well-protected by the back four.

“We have talked about being tighter and being more organised and we did that tonight.

“The game opened up in the last 10 minutes or so, which was good, and we created a few chances. It started to really happen for us towards the end and we could have won it.”