‘It’s turned into a fairytale’ – Morecambe revel in raucous return

When Morecambe fans bought their tickets to watch their side play their first delayed National League fixture of the campaign, following a financial crisis and period of suspension in which their very existence was under serious threat, they could hardly have cared less about the outcome of Saturday’s match against Altrincham.

After months of dread, confusion and turmoil, culminating in the finalisation of a takeover by new owners Panjab Warriors, it was being back in their home, watching their team in action, alongside the rest of their people, that mattered far more than the scoreline.

But in the end a nightmare that had endured for months turned into an utter dream, as the Shrimps secured a stunning 2-1 win thanks to a 98th-minute winner from new signing Daniel Ogwuru, who only signed for the club on Friday night.

“We thought we were gone, dead and buried”, said Pat Stoyles, chair of fans ‘ group The Shrimps ‘ Trust. “We just wanted to not be humiliated today. Now it’s turned into a fairytale hasn’t it?

” The atmosphere all day has been electric. It was perfect. “

Hardy hugs and plenty of tears were shared by people young and old who had spent the summer worrying they may never even watch their side play here again, never mind see them deliver last-gasp winners.

” Today has been all about bringing the club back together, “said 23-year-old Zoe, who has been coming to Morecambe matches with her father Dusty for 19 years.

” For so long we have wanted to come out with our friends and family and get all the Shrimps as one again. It’s just a great feeling. The whole town has been raring to go. “

Josh, 29, added:” For the first few weeks of the season, while we’ve not been playing, I haven’t known what to do with myself. You lose your routine and the people you go with. I really thought we were going to be liquidated.

“I’ve been coming since I was five. My grandad first took me, and he’s passed away now. Having the club back means we keep that family, generational link going”.

Prior to kick-off, the new owners were given a raucous welcome by the 3, 500 home fans in attendance, who revelled in their return and generated a tremendous atmosphere from start to finish.

From there, Altrincham – who had lost two of their three opening games, but have at least been able to enjoy unhindered preparation – grew into the match and deservedly levelled. The visitors created plenty of chances to win the game in the second half but couldn’t quite make one count.

As they piled forward, Morecambe took advantage of the space left behind, with Ogwuru arrowing a ferocious finish into the far corner before celebrating with the delirious supporters behind the goals.

Before that, Morecambe had at times looked like a team of strangers – because that is exactly what they are. When Panjab Warriors ‘ takeover was finalised on Monday, the club had five players in their squad.

Since then, 12 have been signed by new manager Ashvir Singh Johal as he begins his first senior managerial role, including 19-year-old second-half substitute Ma’kel Campbell, who only finalised his deal a few hours before kick-off on Saturday morning.

Misunderstandings over when the ball is going long or short, who has a tendency to cut inside or go out wide, and when to launch into a full counter-attack, are to be expected from a team which has had no pre-season and a single training session to work together.

But the sheer quality Morecambe have managed to bring in during a whirlwind few days, including a plethora of players who graduated from the academies of some of the country’s elite clubs, was already enough to turn them into a team that looked competent and talented from the get-go.

Johal was an energetic presence on the touchline for the entirety of the match, delivering instructions about the team’s shape to a midfield clearly adjusting to each other, while the majority of the bellowing of encouragement was left to his newly-assembled backroom staff.

“I have a clear process”, Johal said afterwards. “Becoming a manager has been my aim for four or five years now. I’ve had a lot of good experiences, so my job is to ignore everything on the outside and make sure the recruitment is right and that there is a good gameplan.

” On Thursday and Friday, the players were on the pitch. Because they haven’t trained together before, we had to limit their exposure to the outside and focus on fitness.

“The sessions were about 45 minutes long and we talked about the principles of how we want to play. We were very clear on the style.