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Morecambe 1-3 Burnley
Morecambe boss Sammy McIlroy said he found it hard to criticise his side after they bowed out of the Carling Cup to local rivals Burnley on Tuesday night.
In front of the Shrimps' biggest crowd at the new Globe Arena of more than 5,000 the home side put up a brave performance but two second half goals from the Clarets was enough to earn them a passage into Round 3.
McIlroy said there was plenty to admire, especially his side's first half performance which saw them take an early lead and come close to adding a second as the Shrimps looked the more threatening team.
But they conceded a goal on the half hour and then gave away a sloppy penalty in the second half which allowed Burnley to gain the upper hand.
Said McIlroy: "We had a great start and took the lead and could have had a second not long after which would have made things really interesting if it had gone in.
"But Burnley scored a good goal to come back into it and it was always going to be tough after that although we did continue to cause them problems. We hit the crossbar and had a couple of half chances but we gave a soft penalty again and that gave Burnley the advantage they needed.
"I was pleased with the way we battled right to the end but when they scored a third with a cruel deflection we were going to struggle to get back into it. Overall though I thought the football was bright again and with a bit more luck we will start to win games.''
Morecambe started brightly and shocked the Clarets by taking the lead after just 11 minutes. Winger Mark Duffy, in the side for the injured Adam Rundle, weaved an opening in the box and fed the ball through to Phil Jevons who stroked home his first goal of the season past Lee Grant from eight yards out.
Jevons then looked set to make it 2-0 on 22 minutes when Chris Shuker cross from the right but the Morecambe striker saw his close range shot diverted for a corner when he looked sure to score.
Morecambe's dominance came to an end when Burnley scored a fine leveller on the half hour when Chris Eagles fired home Steve Thompson's lay off.
Morecambe started the second half on top with Laurence Wilson rattling the crossbar with a superb free kick and Craig Stanley going close.
But once again Morecambe were the architects of their own downfall when they gave away the softest of penalties when Daren Moss brought down the dangerous Eagles and Steve Thompson made no mistake from the spot.
Morecambe hit back with substitute Paul Mullin heading inches wide before Burnley scored a fortunate third 17 minutes from time. The substitute tried his luck from 25 yards and the ball came off a Morecambe player to fly past the wrong footed Roche.
Morecambe: Roche, Moss (rep Mullin 72), Parrish, McCready, Wilson; Scott; Shuker, Fleming (rep Hunter 80), Stanley (rep Drummond 80), Duffy; Jevons. Subs not used: Walker, Spencer, Bentley, Haining.
Burnley: Grant; Eckersley (rep McDonald 67), Cort, Carlisle, Easton; Edgar, Elliott, Cork, Eagles (rep King 85); Thompson, Rodriguez (rep Fletcher 90). Subs not used: Iwulemo, Patterson, Wallace, Jensen.
Ref: G Salisbury.
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Weather for Morecambe
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
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