Morecambe boss Derek Adams was full of praise for his players as they overcame Tranmere 1-0 to move up to eighth in the League Two table.
The Shrimps were given a helping hand by Jordan Turnbull’s own goal 18 minutes from time but Adams felt his side were worthy winners.
He said: “Tranmere are a really good side but tonight we managed to get the better of them.
“It was a great team performance overall to get us the win. We had to make changes but everyone that came in showed great character and the team ethic was superb to keep the clean sheet and put ourselves into a fantastic position in the league.
“Their keeper was outstanding and kept them in the match and we could have won by a greater margin.”
The game was decided by a huge slice of misfortune for Turnbull, who was unlucky to divert a superb Chris Stokes cross past his own keeper Luke McGee.
Tranmere had plenty of possession but it was Morecambe who created the better chances, with McGee twice saving well from JJ McKiernan in the first half after good work from Tom Bloxham.
The visiting keeper had to be at his best after the break with a superb save from Bloxham’s close-range effort with his feet and another excellent block from Michael Mellon.
The Shrimps finally broke through with Turnbull’s own goal before Connor Jennings wasted two great late chances for the visitors.
First he fired over from 18 yards before missing the target from close range after Adam Smith had saved well from substitute Rob Apter.
Tranmere’s caretaker boss Nigel Adkins admitted the defeat was a blow but was proud of his team’s efforts.
He said: “We are in the mire at the moment but you could see tonight how everyone is together and fighting for this club.
“Everyone could see the commitment and with every single player and every member of staff giving their all for the cause and for this football club.
“On another day we could have scored three, four or five goals but it hasn’t happened and one really unlucky deflection (decided the game).
“Ultimately we didn’t get the result we were after but our luck will change because we will all work as hard as we can to make sure that does.”
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.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
