Rescued Morecambe celebrate new lease of life with unlikely victory

“Well, well, well,” begins the voice over the public address system. Almost all of the 3,700-odd supporters inside the Mazuma Stadium are still dancing wildly, Mark Swindlehurst’s words barely registering.

He has been Morecambe Football Club’s volunteer announcer for 32 years, and his speech is dripping in emotion. Seconds earlier, in the eighth of 10 added minutes, the substitute Daniel Ogwuru secured a precious winner.

As Morecambe broke, Ashvir Singh Johal, who replaced Derek Adams as manager only on Monday, placed his hands on his head. As the net burst, and with it the home terrace, he danced giddily down the touchline.

“The only thing we didn’t practise was going to a 5-3-2,” Johal said later, composure regained. “The players came to me, and I wrote on a bit of paper to show them. We scored on the counterattack from that situation.” A grin emerges. “I was quite pleased with that!”

Even before the late twist, Saturday was inked in as a day of celebration. An early-season match against Altrincham would not ordinarily be greeted with such enthusiasm, but this was, if not the most important fixture in the English professional game this season, then certainly the most critical in the club’s 105-year history.

Having lost Football League status in April, the club and the town were a shrimp’s shell’s breadth from losing so much more. A convoluted takeover, one delayed and delayed by the former owner Jason Whittingham and his Bond Group, left the club days from being removed from the National League.

Last Sunday, the suspension was lifted and the Panjab Warriors, who gained English Football League approval for the purchase in early June, were finally able to complete their investment.

The wait must have felt worthwhile as their representatives celebrated gleefully from the directors’ box as a result manifested earlier by the club DJ played out. Kick-off was still 90 minutes away when D:Ream started playing. The lyrics “Things can only get better” were apt.

Keith, a fan who has been taking the drum hung by his side to games for three decades, said of the previous uncertainty: “I went through tears and anger – those were the two extremes. It was like part of my life had gone. Football is a game at the end of the day, but it is a huge part of people’s lives and the whole community.”

Jeff Calvert, present at Wembley when Morecambe won the 1974 FA Trophy, arrived early with son Paul, his wife, his daughter and his three grandsons. “It’s magical,” he said. “Still surreal at the moment. Thank goodness for Panjab Warriors.”

“I’ve been checking Facebook constantly for months – I’ve got a repetitive strain injury in my thumb,” Paul added, smiling.

In a swirling ocean of red and black, familiar faces greeted each other and early arrivers were buoyed up by the news that club staff had stuck £500 behind the ground’s bars. “I never stopped believing,” Anne told her friends in the queue. Some of them did.

Come 11.30am the instantly recognisable dull ring of a PA system preparing for duty sounded. “The turnstiles are now open.” Sweet, sweet words. Simultaneously, the team sheet confirmed that the five senior players on the books last week would line up alongside six newbies.

View image in fullscreen Morecambe manager Ashvir Singh Johal applauds the fans at the final whistle. Photograph: Gary Oakley/PA

Even Craig David could not do lyrical justice to Morecambe’s seven days. Takeover complete on Sunday; new gaffer in on Monday; a dozen new signings from Wednesday; three points on Saturday.

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So quick was the turnaround that a mini tube of Pringles was the closest to a hot meal available and the club shop had no replica shirts. They all went weeks ago at a pop-up event run by the kit supplier Terrace on the promenade.

Ten minutes before the start, Morecambe’s new custodians were introduced to the crowd. Unsurprisingly, the reception received was rapturous and rousing. Johal was afforded a similar ovation.

Talk about dropping from a height into roaring flames. Not only is this Johal’s maiden senior role, but also, aged 30, he is the youngest manager across English football’s top five tiers. Oh, and he is the first Sikh to manage a professional British club.

He has a fine record in youth football, though, including time spent with Cesc Fàbregas in Como, and was Kolo Touré’s assistant during a brief stint at Wigan. Management is his dream. “This is not a learning experience for me, because I’m not here to learn,” he said. “I’m here to win and be the best manager I can be.”

At 12.36pm, the seemingly impossible happened: Ben Tollitt, one of last season’s survivors, nudged Morecambe ahead. Johal, his assistant Lee Tomlin and the entire bench shared warm, meaningful embraces, as did friends, loved ones and strangers around the ground. Can you just imagine? Seven days ago most of them couldn’t.

Given training amounted to 120 minutes across two sessions, Morecambe were excellent. True, they conceded a first-half equaliser and by the end suffered a cramp epidemic, but they held on. And then some.

Post match, Bring Me Sunshine, a song synonymous with the area thanks to the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, was aired. It was sung with gusto by almost everyone.

In future, Whittingham’s tenure – the good (spoiler: not much) and the disastrous (spoiler: plenty) – will be discussed in local watering holes and amusement arcades till the cockles come home.

But all that really matters now, like truly, properly, actually, matters, is that a community’s metronome remains ticking. If Morecambe can flip attention into momentum, a bright future awaits. First, though, Aldershot away on a bank holiday Monday. A 524-mile round trip, thank you very much. 5am coach, you say? Bloomin’ heck.

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