Bentley praises Shrimps rearguard

Morecambe manager Jim Bentley hailed his defenders as they frustrated sixth-placed Oxford during the Shrimps' surprise 2-1 win at the Kassam Stadium.

Headed goals by Craig Curran and Stewart Drummond handed Morecambe victory over the play-off-chasing U's, and it was no more than they deserved. It was also the first time the Shrimps had found the net against Oxford for 13 years. Bentley said: "Everyone had reminded me that we hadn't scored against Oxford since 1999. I was getting tired with that stat before the game. "We knew we would come under pressure at times, but we defended exceptionally well, Barry Roche has made good saves when he's been called upon and we've done very well at the other end too. "I think we shaded it and deserved the win to be honest. We had some good set-piece routines. It was another good away performance by us. I was very pleased with the defensive aspect of it, the shape we had and the commitment and determination we showed. "We forced them into changing their systems a couple of times, which is credit to the way we were playing. I said to the players at half-time 'keep believing in yourselves', because we've got some good players at the club."