BOGIE side Accrington Stanley stole the bragging rights again as Morecambe suffered in a game they should have won at the Interlink Express Stadium.

A 2-1 defeat to your play-off rivals is bad enough - but when they are managed by one of your former players and get reduced to 10-men before the break it can be too much to take.

Maybe Accrington have had the Indian sign on Shrimps, but that hoodoo seemed to be over when Morecambe took the lead in a tension-packed opening at Stanley.

A mere 13 minutes had passed when the seaside fans were celebrating a goal that owed as much to inept goalkeeping as to striking excellence.

Michael Twiss hit a long-range shot that should have been meat and drink for Stanley's Paul Crichton. But not for the first time in his career, the former Burnley keeper proved that catching a ball isn't always as easy as it looks and spilled the shot.

Wayne Curtis was first to react and neatly created space to drill the ball into the roof of the net.

The goal signalled the start of a period of Stanley pressure but they never really looked like causing too many problems as Jim Bentley and company soaked up the threat.

Maybe that caused the frustration that sent Stanley boss John Coleman into an apoplectic rage on 30 minutes when Curtis tripped David Brown.

Coleman was convinced the trip was in the penalty area and was fuming when referee Philip Bramley awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box.

The Coleman blood pressure neared normal six minutes later when Stanley substitute Andy Proctor crossed from the right and Lee McEvilly rose to nod the ball past Ryan Robinson in the Morecambe goal.

But in a moment of madness four minutes before the break, McEvilly suggested the middle four letters of his name are more than deserved as he smashed Darran Kempson in the face with his elbow.

The striker was shown a straight red card although Coleman suggests he may appeal. That would be a waste of a stamp.

But as is so often the case Accrington's 10-men fought tooth and nail as Morecambe failed to find their rhythm in a frustrating second half.

Stanley thought they had a penalty when Brown went down in the box under challenge from Kempson - but referee Bramley waved those appeals away again.

Then Rory Prendergast, as is so often the case for Accrington, made a telling contribution after being sent on as a substitute.

Prendergast beat two men before sending a cross swirling over and there was Paul Mullin loitering with intent at the near post to make it 2-1.

The goal spurred Morecambe to press forward in search of an equaliser, and they thought they might have got that reward 10 minutes from time when Danny Carlton had the ball in the net.

But the 'goal' was ruled out for handball to end a dismal day for Jim Harvey's men.

MORECAMBE: Robinson, Kempson, Bentley, Swan (Carlton 52), Blackburn, Kelly (Walmsley 58), Hunter, Howard, Thompson (Elam 73), Twiss, Curtis. Subs (not used): Sollitt, Mahoney.