MISFIRING Morecambe were dumped unceremoniously out of the FA Cup by a team from a lower league - and no-one could have any complaints.

Northwich Victoria travelled to Christie Park with a point to prove after being expelled from the Nationwide Conference for technical reasons.

The Cheshire side had overcome the odds to claw back a 10-point deduction and stave off relegation only to be flung out of the league anyway.

But they earned the grudging respect of a 2000-plus Morecambe crowd - including a large contingent of Northwich followers - by giving the home side a lesson in organisation and desire that was well worth a place in the draw for round two of the world's most prestigious knockout competition.

There was little sign of what was to follow as Morecambe opened brightly, with Jim Bentley firing a volley just over the bar on four minutes following a foul on Wayne Curtis and then the big striker himself seeing a low shot smartly saved by 'keeper Kris Rogers after a corner was half cleared in the fifth minute.

On seven minutes Dave Perkins threaded a superb pass inside the full back to put Curtis in on goal again. But once more his shot was beaten away.

And on nine minutes Sean O'Connor ran with the ball from the halfway line to get in a shot at Rogers but his effort was always drifting wide.

It wasn't until the 13th minute that that visitors mustered a worthwhile attack, ending with a Danny Mayman shot just wide of Ryan Robinson's goal.

But having taken 15 minutes to work out the home team, the midfield duo of Stuart Elliott - the best player on the field by a mile - and Michael Carr started dismantling the Jim Harvey gameplan.

The first crack appeared on 18 minutes when Elliott's long ball from defence found Johnny Allan. He moved the ball smartly on to Paul Brayson to run beyond Robinson and slot the ball into the net for the first goal of a neat hat trick despite Darran Kempson's last-ditch attempt to clear, That strike knocked Morecambe right out of their stride as Vics visibly grew in confidence, no-one more so than lively winger Carlos Roca as he went on the first of his many eye-catching dashes down the left.

Keiran Walmsley was cautioned as he brought a premature end to one of those runs on 23 minutes, while Elliott became the first Northwich player to see a yellow card for his dissent following a foul on Curtis five minutes later.

Morecambe's best effort of the half came in the 35th minute when another Curtis shot was beaten away and the ball fell to Jimmy Kelly. But his shot lacked venom and was easily saved by Rogers.

Five minutes later it was 2-0 as a Roca charge down the left won a corner which Shrimps failed to clear properly. Bentley's initial header was put back into the 'mix' and when Robinson couldn't claim the ball cleanly Brayson was there to gleefully slam home goal number two from 12 yards out.

The struggling Chris Blackburn was replaced almost immediately by Garry Thompson as Morecambe looked for a cutting edge and as half time beckoned, O'Connor chased a long clearance into the Northwich box and claimed a penalty when he was muscled out of the way by Keiran Charnock - but the referee was having none of it.

Harvey shuffled his pack further at half time, bringing Michael Stringfellow on for Jimmy Kelly, but it made little difference to the shape of the game.

Morecambe had plenty of possession and attacks and the corner count kept climbing - 12 to three by the end of the game - but there was little real threat to a well-marshalled away defence. And when Perkins did launch a dangerous run at Vics on 51 minutes he was sent crashing by a cynical trip which earned Charnock a caution.

The Shrimps misery was complete in the 66th minute when Stringfellow was dispossessed in midfield by Carr, who played the ball to Brayson on the left flank. He cut inside and picked his spot just inside Robinson's far post for a picture goal to complete his three-timer.

Morecambe threw caution to the wind in a bid to rescue something from the match but that only made it easier for Elliott and Roca to pull all the right strings - and it wasn't until the 84th minute that substitute Danny Carlton pulled back a consolation goal as he had a simple tap in from a Michael Twiss knock-down.

It was too little too late to stop the joyous Northwich celebrations at the final whistle - and even a good section of the Morecambe crowd stayed behind to applaud them from the field.

MORECAMBE: Robinson 5, Blackburn 5 (Thompson 42), Kempson 6, Bentley 6, Howard 6, Walmsley 5, Kelly 5 (Stringfellow 5), Perkins 7, Curtis 6, O'Connor 5 (Carlton 57), Twiss 6. Subs not used: Lloyd, Davies.

Phil Fleming