Morecambe boss Derek Adams gained sweet revenge over his former club Bradford as his youngsters enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory at the Mazuma Stadium.
Adams, who was sacked by the Bantams after less than a season in charge in February 2022 before returning for a second spell with the Shrimps, had plenty to smile about.
Michael Mellon scored twice and JJ McKiernan added another in a one-sided clash.
“I was delighted with the way we managed the game,” he said.
“They are one of the favourites to go up this year, as they have been for so many years, but they couldn’t deal with us and the manner of the victory was fantastic.
“I’m delighted for the players because they gave everything. Bradford changed their formation but no matter how they lined up they never caused us problems because we were strong in and out of possession and were tactically very good.
“We have a lot of young players but they have worked really hard and today typified that.
“There’s not too many times you get a victory like we did today. We scored three and could have had four or five.”
Bantams boss Mark Hughes said he had no complaints about the result.
He said: “We never looked like we were going to get any foothold in the game and I’m really surprised because I didn’t see it coming.
“We have done pretty well so far this season but today we didn’t really show any threat and they didn’t really have to work hard for their goals.
“I think 3-0 was the correct scoreline because we were flat and just didn’t do the basics correctly and I’ll have to look closely on what we did and more importantly what we didn’t do.”
Mellon was Morecambe’s star man with two goals.
The on-loan Burnley youngster opened the scoring with a 22nd-minute free-kick that beat the wall and flew into Harry Lewis’s bottom left-hand corner.
The visitors tried to ramp up the pace at the start of the second half with Jacob Bedeau forced into a fine block to deny Tyler Smith, before Morecambe midfielder Eli KIng headed a Richie Smallwood corner inches wide of his own goal.
After surviving the pressure the home side doubled their lead with a well worked second when Mellon turned provider to play in JJ McKiernan who drilled a low shot past Lewis from the edge of the area.
The Shrimps sealed the scoring with their first penalty since March 2022 after Kevin McDonald brought down Jake Taylor and Mellon stepped up to send Lewis the wrong way from the spot to seal a fine win.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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