Morecambe was a thriving seaside town back in the 50's all the way through to the 1980's but now due to lack of investment the crowds are no longer. It was like stepping into a ghost town at 11am on a Saturday morning with run down beach-front buildings that tell a story of just how great Morecambe used to be. Then of course theres the statue of the towns most famous son, Eric Morecambe, complete with stars like the Hollywood walk of fame depicting famous names who appeared on the Morecambe and Wise show. Eric really is firmly in the hearts of all Morecambe residents and football supporters, its just a shame he ended up supporting Luton Town.
Braving the half-hour walk to the stadium whilst being battered by the elements, the ground came into view. The Globe Arena appears smart in design but with very little around it other than a council estate and a caravan park, I was merrily welcomed by a friendly steward and £15 later I was in the ground to sample a legendary Morecambe pie.
A quick nod goes in the direction of Tom Dickinson at this point, as I've recently been reading the quite brilliant book '92 Pies' written by Tom. It's a story of one mans quest to visit all 92 league stadiums in the country (and Wales) whilst at each one, consuming a pie. Tom's recommendation in the book was that Morecambe have the finest pie's in the whole four divisions, so after parting with my £2.50 to be greeted by a huge pile of gravy- smothered meat and potato loveliness I can now confirm that Morecambe is my favourite football pie.
The stadium in design is spookily like Burton's home Pirelli stadium, with the floodlights, terraces behind both goals and main stand all very similar to the Brewer's home, the subtle differences are that Burton had splashed out on more crush-barriers on the terraces and the construction workers at the Pirelli stadium had actually managed to finish all four stands. The 'stand' to the right of us in the away end, known as the north terrace, was literally five rows deep, uncovered and braved by a few hardy souls who for some unknown reason enjoyed getting a soaking. Fan's of Bench clothing may be interested in a trip to the Globe Arena as the club shop offers a section dedicated to the brand at 50% off while I was there.
The match got underway with Burton looking to press early on, with Morecambe very much on the counter attack. Despite the Brewer's having the lions share of possession it was the home side that took the lead through Lewis Allessandra's sublime curling effort which clipped Ross Atkin's post before nestling in the back of the net. The Shrimp's fans went wild with the home terrace opposite belting out tunes with the aid of a drum and a brass band, like a smaller version of how Hillsborough used to be. Jason Price was next to come to the attention of the Albion support, being so close to the action you don't miss a thing as a league two supporter, and quite blatantly we could hear Price's taunts to Burton defender Nathan Stanton, as the two tussled throughout the first half, anger was directed at the Morecambe striker, looking like a lower-league Fellaini, resulting in chants involving afro's.
Albion continued to press and with a free kick lined up, Billy Kee smashed a fierce shot into the wall which took a massive deflection to wrong-foot goalkeeper Barry Roche and trickle into the net for the equaliser. The pitch was now becoming more like a farmers field, with torrential rain and mud everywhere, yet the quality never suffered, with both teams passing the ball well. As the second period was about to begin, goalkeeper Roche made his way to the Burton end to chants of 'Forest reject!' and we all reminisced about the hilarious time when Barry was keeping goal for Forest against Derby County and a plastic coffee cup diverted the ball away from his swinging right foot to allow Paul Peschisolido to score for the Ram's, Peschisolido incidentally,now managing Burton.
An inswinging cross from the right met the head of Aaron Webster who's header looped up in the air for Calvin Zola to nod home for 2-1 on his 27th birthday, he enjoyed that one. Away fans now in raptures and Albion in the ascendancy the lead only looked like increasing. With Morecambe now making countless mistakes in possession, one gentleman behind me shouted 'Get back on that beach....with the rest of the donkeys!' causing an outbreak of laughter. Sadly the only one laughing would be Morecambe's Gary McDonald as his rasping 25 yard strike sailed past Atkins into the net. All was set for a frantic finale as goalkeepers at both ends preserved the deadlock and honours ended even.
All in all it was a fantastic day not even the weather could spoil, Morecambe is a friendly and easily accessible place to visit, its worth it just for those pies alone! Happy new year to all of you for 2012 from us here at Bar and In.
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