Morecambe 2 Rushden & Diamonds 3 MORECAMBE ended their 500 minute goal drought in spectacular fashion on Saturday only to cruelly denied by a late winner from a capable Rushden and Diamonds side.

But manager Jim Harvey was still full of praise for his side despite being desperately frustrated and disappointed by the result.

He said: "After that comeback and the way we played it looked like only one side was going to win it in the second half and that was us. The lads were down at the end when they scored with virtually the last kick of the game but two or three days later, when they calmed down, they'll know they should have beaten the team that will probably win it.

"Another thing is we haven't been taking chances but on Saturday Johnny Norman scored so his confidence will be back and Neil Morton and Wayne Curtis will soon be back in contention. I'm confident we can force a win away at Dover on Saturday."

The hosts thought they had clinched a draw with a riveting second half two-goal fightback which saw them overcome a daunting 2-0 scoreline.

However, an 89th minute goal from Michael McEhalton condemned unlucky Morecambe to another defeat, putting them dangerously close to the relegation zone.

Things got off to a dreadful start when Jim Rodwell fired Rushden into an early lead after just six minutes. A frustrating half ensued in which Morecambe went close on several occasions only to find themselves two down due to a 27th minute goal by Mark Cooper against the run of play.

Scarcely a minute after the interval Darren Lyons put a deserved end to the home side's mammoth goal drought with a cheeky angled shot that went in off the post.

Having remembered how to score, Morecambe did it again in the 67th minute with a Dave Gardner free kick being headed home by John Norman. Morecambe seemed to have survived a few scary moments to hang on to a deserved draw when Rusden struck in the 89th minute. McElhalton buried a convincing shot past the despairing Andy Banks to make it 3-2.

Morecambe's misery was complete when a minute later Norman was unable to capitalise on a fumbling error from Rushden keeper Mark Smith.

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