Morecambe boss explains tactical thinking after they beat Charlton at The Valley
Morecambe manager Derek Adams praised his players for executing the game plan in yesterday’s 3-2 win over Charlton Athletic.
The struggling Shrimpers boosted their League One survival prospects with Arthur Gnahoua scoring twice along with Cole Stockton snaring his 26th goal of the campaign – 23 of those in the league.
Adams said: “It was a really good performance from us. We took the game to Charlton and caused them a lot of trouble.
“We knew the gameplan and we had to suss them out – we did that really well. We locked high on to their back three, we dealt with their wing-backs with our full-backs, our midfield players then locked on to their midfield players. It stopped them playing.
“When you stop a side playing it frustrates them, we then got down the side of them and created some really good opportunities before we scored. We could have been two or three-nil ahead before we got that first goal.
“It was a great finish from Cole Stockton. The other one from Arthur was very similar – they were cutbacks into the bottom corner. It just looked at that point a question of when we were going to score the next goal.
“I actually thought Charlton might change their system at the start of the second half and players. They didn’t and got a quick goal, which set us back a bit. But we showed great resilience to come back into the game and create another couple of chances before Arthur Gnahoua scores an unbelievable goal into the top corner to make it 3-1.
“They got it back to 3-2 but it was a thoroughly deserved victory for us.
“We were accomplished. The game plan and the team’s understanding of their roles was excellent. It’s the players who have to do it and to a man today they were top class.
“To come away with three points has helped us to stay in the division. We’ve still got a long way to go because it is still extremely tight at the bottom.
“They are going to put balls in the box because they’ve got the likes of Stockley. We understood they would have opportunities. Did they have big opportunities? I’d probably say no.”
PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD AND PAUL EDWARDS
