The French Connection: Morecambe "Shot" to pieces

The French Connection / Andrew French / 09 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

Sammy McIlroy's Morecambe are likely to get "nil points" from their trip to Aldershot.

"A team unbeaten at home against a team without an away win – difficult for me to see why you can back Aldershot to beat Morecambe at better than even money in League Two."

With no Championship football this weekend, Andrew French inserts an international selection into his usual treble.....

Back Bulgaria at [2.02]
Back Norwich at [2.28]
Back Aldershot at [2.08]
Treble pays around [9.63]

With all Group 8 eyes likely to be on the World Cup qualifier between Ireland and Italy, this might be the time to grab a little bit of value about what should be a fairly routine victory for Bulgaria in a match that still has significance in the battle to reach South Africa. Should Ireland fail to beat Italy - and that has to be likely - then the door swings open for Bulgaria to pip them to second place in the group. But to keep their chances alive, they must win in Cyprus on Saturday. Winning has been a problem for the Bulgarians (they have managed just two in eight games so far) but they are a far better side than Cyprus and even being away from home should not prevent them taking the three points they need to keep their chances alive. Bulgaria are 19th in FIFA's rankings, Cyprus are 76th - so backing the visitors at [2.02] is appealing.

As away trips go, they don't come much more arduous than the one Norwich fans face to visit Carlisle this weekend - but I believe they will make the return journey in a good mood. The Canaries have shaken off a poor start to the season and now sit just outside the play-off places in League One, as new manager Paul Lambert appears to be getting his message across. They have smacked in nine goals in their last two league games, and the 5-1 win over third-placed Bristol Rovers last weekend certainly caught the eye. Carlisle are just above the drop zone and have not won a league game since the beginning of September. Their only home league win came against struggling Tranmere, and at [2.28], I'm including a Norwich victory in my treble.

A team unbeaten at home against a team without an away win - difficult for me to see why you can back Aldershot to beat Morecambe at better than even money in League Two. The Shots have already comfortably beaten better sides than Morecambe at the Recreation Ground, and their only league defeat since mid-August came last weekend at Lincoln, where the hosts were boosted by the arrival of new manager Chris Sutton. Morecambe have won just once all season, ironically against Notts County, but their lack of any sign of form on the road makes me confident to put forward Aldershot as the third part of the treble at [2.08].