MORE than 5,000 fans turned out to cheer Morecambe towards the Holy Grail of Football League status at Christie Park - but went home ultimately disappointed.

It wasn't that they were short-changed by their heroes in red and white, far from it, in fact!

The crowd of 5,405 - about 200 of them travelling supporters from Dagenham and Redbridge - was treated to a roller coaster ride of emotions lasting for more than two-and-a-half hours before Morecambe crashed out of the Nationwide Conference play-offs.

They had been a matter of seconds from progressing to the final at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium with a 2-0 lead in normal time.

But Paul Terry conjured up a last minute goal to take the game into the 30-minutes of extra time which failed to separate the teams - and the Shrimps lost 3-2 in a heart-stopping penalty shoot-out.

It marked the end of a long season full of good football and great hopes for Jim Harvey's hard-working side.

Morecambe finished second in the Conference table - their highest ever league position - after a gruelling 42 league games during a marathon nine months campaign, but the fickle finger of fate was pointing the wrong way when it came to the final hurdle.

Manager Jim Harvey is not dismayed, though, and vows: "We'll be back."

H is confident that The Shrimps will be even stronger when they begin another promotion push next season.

"We did enough to win the game but it didn't happen for us. We are young and we are certainly going to be a power again next year," he says.

Harvey reckons his team will be better for having had a successful season ending with the club's best ever placing.

And he adds: "We have learned a hell of a lot this year. We will add again in the summer and I would think we will be bound for the play-offs again next year with that bit more experience."