Match Preview | Argyle v Morecambe
Former Argyle boss Derek Adams brings his Morecambe side to Home Park on Saturday.
Adams was Pilgrims manager from June 2015 to April 2019, and presided over a promotion from Sky Bet League Two in the 2016/17 season. He had a win rate of 44.1% from his 186 league games in charge.
After leaving Home Park, Derek took over at Morecambe in November 2019, with the Shrimps bottom of League Two, but steered them to promotion via the play-offs at the end of the 2020/21 season.
Just days later, Adams left for Bradford City, but was sacked after seven months with the Bantams mid-table in League Two. Nine days later, he made a dramatic return to Morecambe, as Stephen Robinson had departed for St Mirren. In the three months remaining of the season, Adams managed to steer Morecambe to safety.
This season, Morecambe have won just two of their 20 games so far, and head to Home Park bottom of League One, with 15 points.
Morecambe have drawn four of their last five games, all by a scoreline of 1-1, against Wycombe Wanderers, Derby County, Portsmouth and Exeter City. The other, they lost 2-1 to Lincoln City.
Morecambe’s top goalscorer is Jensen Weir, who has six goals from midfield. Weir, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, spent much of last season on loan at Cambridge United. Kieran Phillips, a 22-year-old on loan from Huddersfield Town, has four goals. Cole Stockton, who scored 26 times last season, is still with Morecambe, but has just two goals so far. Those two, though, have come in his last two appearances.
Last season, Argyle drew 1-1 away to Morecambe, with Danny Mayor equalising quickly after an early Jonah Ayunga goal put the Shrimps ahead. In the return game at Home Park, Argyle won 2-0 thanks to first-half strikes by Conor Grant and Ryan Hardie.
Morecambe have made the trip to Devon eight times in their history, and are yet to win, with Argyle winning six and drawing two.
Schumacher Says
“Everybody here knows how well Derek sets his teams up. Defensively they are hard to break down. Looking that their results this year, they have only won a couple, but they have drawn nine games, which shows they are competitive. They have quality in their team that can score goals.
“We need to be patient. We need to start games well, but if it is getting a little bit tricky, and we have to find a way to break them down. We need to keep our patience, our discipline, and hope someone shows a bit of quality to go and win the game.”
Tickets
A limited number of tickets remain available to purchase online at argyletickets.com. The Home Park Ticket Office will be open until kick-off for supporters wishing to purchase on the day of the fixture.
Turnstiles will open two hours before kick-off, from 1pm. Supporters are advised to enter through the turnstile identified on their match ticket. However, if neighbouring turnstiles have shorter queues, supporters are permitted to enter these to speed up access to the stadium.
Argyle TV
The game is available to stream for domestic and overseas supporters, with commentary from Charlie Price and Marc Edworthy.
From 2pm, Erin Black and Brian McGlinchey will bring you a pre-match show, streamed for free on YouTube, as we build up to the game.
