FULL-TIME: MK Dons 1 Morecambe 1
League Two

SUPER subs Michael Twiss and Wayne Curtis made sure Morecambe could finish their season with their heads held high as the Shrimps drew with League Two champions MK Dons.

The long-serving pair made a mighty difference after being thrown into the action - and Twiss scored the leveller from a Curtis knock down as the Shrimps finished with a flourish in a real party atmosphere at stadium:mk.

The Dons led at the break as Aaron Wilbraham was the benefactor of a stroke of good fortune after Morecambe had threatened to spoil the party in front of a record crowd for the Dons, which was also the biggest crowd the Shrimps had played in front of in the League.

The Shrimps played with a freedom and could easily have been ahead with Garry Thompson a particular threat.

It was party time from well before kick-off and Morecambe kit man Les Dewhirst had a splashing time when he got a right royal soaking from a pitch sprinkler that burst into life without warning.

It was some party - and even Morecambe's colourful and loud travelling army could scarcely make themselves heard as fans of the fledgling club celebrated their greatest day.

The Shrimps gave the champions and Johnstone's Paint Trophy winners a guard of honour as they took to the field - a gesture that lifted the volume to supersonic levels.

The Dons are worthy champions and they made a bright start with Jemal Johnson forcing a smart save out of Shwan Jalal inside a minute.

But the Shrimps responded well and Thompson fed Matty Blinkhorn, who in turn played Carl Baker in.

The trickster danced into the box and made Dean Lewington look rather silly as he dummied him but the shot lacked power and Willy Gueret saved.

Then Thompson, a bundle of energy and enthusiasm, curled one just over before Craig Stanley's clever free-kick routine saw Thompson come short - but he missed his kick.

That was justice done because it was never a free-kick in the first place.

The Dons were putting a fair bit of pressure on but it was the Shrimps most dangerous and Baker took advantage of a generous offside decision to burst clear but he wasted his shot when a pass to the unmarked Blinkhorn may have been a better option.

Thompson was having a good game and another surging run was followed by a slide-rule pass to Stanley, whose wicked cross was well dealt with by Gueret.

But they were almost rocked from their first corner as Gueret gathered and threw out quickly to Craig Dobson, who appeared to have the measure of Henry McStay.

However, Morecambe's right-back made a fine saving tackle and Mr Dependable Danny Adams mopped up the remaining danger.

It was a decent game on a sweltering afternoon but the opening goal owed more to luck than fine skill.

Johnson saw a shot deflect up and into the path of Wilbraham, who finished well from a few yards out. There was simply nothing Morecambe could do about it.

And there was a further blow for the Shrimps as McStay, who had really been in the wars, limped off to be replaced by Adam Yates.

The Dons came out for the second half a different beast and could have gone 2-0 ahead on 52 minutes as a combination of Jalal and Adams cleared a Wilbraham header off the line.

But Morecambe survived the early onslaught One thing about the Dons is their ability to commit a foul and a flurry of yellow cards could easily have been added to by a stricter disciplinarian than referee Paul Armstrong, who gave the impression that he didn't fancy spending his Sunday writing a big report for the FA.

Blinkhorn, in particular, was the target for a real battering and he was forced out of the action on 65 minutes to be replaced by Wayne Curtis.

And the big man was straight into the action as he chased Garry Hunter's smart ball only to be stopped in his tracks by Alan Howell's desperate tackle.

Suddenly the MK defence didn't fancy throwing their weight about so much and Curtis got onto the end of a Stanley pass and lifted the ball over Gueret in fine style.

But sadly for the Shrimps, the deft lob was inches too high.

Gueret then denied Baker twice in quick succession and Morecambe were on top - and they made their pressure count 12 minutes from time with their leveller.

They had been upping the tempo and when Stanley sent Thompson on the overlap there were major problems for the Dons.

The winger scorched down the right before picking Curtis out with the perfect cross. Curtis headed down and there was Twiss to gleefully convert from close range.

Now it was the Morecambe fans who could be heard as they urged their men on towards a winner and Curtis was involved again as his shot was blocked by the arm of Jude Stirling - but referee Armstrong waved away the penalty shouts.

In a frantic finale, Jalal saved breathtakingly from Mark Wright, who did so well to hold off Jim Bentley and Curtis fired over after a thrilling run into the box before the party really got started.

MK Dons: Gueret, Stirling, Lewington, O'Hanlon, Dobson (Dyer 46), Wilbraham, Miles, Navarro, Howell, Johnson (Wright 75), Swailes (Andrews 57). Subs: Abbey, Hadfield.
Goal: Wilbraham 41
Bookings: Howell 28 (foul), Lewington 34 (foul), O'Hanlon 58 (foul)

Morecambe: Jalal, McStay (Yates 41), Artell, Bentley, Adams, McLachlan (Twiss 59), Stanley, Hunter, Baker, Blinkhorn (Curtis 65), Thompson. Subs: Davies, Lloyd.
Goal: Twiss 78
Bookings: Adams 68 (foul)

Referee: Paul Armstrong (Berkshire)

Attendance: 17,215 (374 from Morecambe)

4:54pm Saturday 3rd May 2008

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