Morecambe boss looking to atone for 'disappointing' Crawley defeat

The Shrimps were beaten 1-0 in October’s meeting at the Globe Arena in a match where Bentley saw Kevin Ellison sent off.

However, as Bentley acknowledged, they face a difficult test against a Crawley side which has rallied well after a difficult start to the season.

He said: “I thought we were the better side against Crawley with 11 men and, when we went to 10 men, we were still the better side.

“We bossed the game and I thought we were decent on the day but that’s all in the past.

“We’re coming to the business end of the season and they are a side in good form. You just have to look at where they have come from – they are stringing results together and have got themselves up the table.

“It will be a tough game, as is any game at this level, but they will have confidence and momentum from their recent run. Performance-wise, we haven’t been too bad because, over the last 10 games, we have won three, lost three and drawn four.

“What we have got to do is embrace the challenge of going to Crawley.”

Bentley’s players travel south needing to bounce back from Tuesday night’s loss at Accrington Stanley.

Billy Kee’s first-half penalty proved the difference as Morecambe missed an opportunity to put further daylight between themselves and the bottom two.

“We have something like the ninth or 10th best defensive record in the league but are one of the lowest scorers,” Bentley said.

“If Billy Kee was in our side then we’d be miles further up the league.”

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