# 2020–21 Morecambe F.C. season

The 2020–21 season was Morecambe's 100th season since formation and their 14th consecutive season in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. It ended with the club being promoted to League One for the first time in their history, following playoff wins against Tranmere Rovers and, in the final, Newport County. They also competed in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
The season was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with all matches except the play-offs taking place behind closed doors.

## Pre-season

Due to the late start to the season, and lack of preparation time, Morecambe's pre-season was limited to just three matches against Manchester United U23s, Workington and Everton U23s.

## Competitions
### EFL League Two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Cheltenham Town (C, P) | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 61 | 39 | +22 | 82 | Promotion to the EFL League One |
| 2 | Cambridge United (P) | 46 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 73 | 49 | +24 | 80 | Promotion to the EFL League One |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers (P) | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 59 | 50 | +9 | 79 | Promotion to the EFL League One |
| 4 | Morecambe (O, P) | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 78 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 5 | Newport County | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 73 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 6 | Forest Green Rovers | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 73 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 73 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 8 | Salford City | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 71 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2021. Source: BBC

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | L | W | W | D | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | W |
| Position | 4 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

#### Matches

The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.

#### Play-offs

Morecambe's 4th-place finish in the league saw them qualify for the play-offs for the first time in 11 years. They played 7th place Tranmere Rovers over two legs and edged the Merseysiders out 3–2 on aggregate to reach the final for the first time in their history.

#### Play-off Final

The semi-final victory over Tranmere saw Morecambe book their third trip to Wembley, after the 1974 FA Trophy Final and the 2007 Conference Play-off Final.
They played Welsh side Newport County for a place in League One, and prevailed thanks to a penalty from Carlos Mendes Gomes in the second period of extra time.

### FA Cup

The draw for the first round proper was made on 26 October 2020 by Grant Holt. Morecambe were handed an away tie at eighth tier Maldon & Tiptree.
The draw for the second round proper was made on 9 November 2020 by Danny Cowley, with Morecambe drawn at home to Solihull Moors of the National League.
Robbie Savage drew the teams for the third round proper on 30 November 2020, with Morecambe being drawn away to Premier League giants (and eventual runners-up in the competition) Chelsea.
All draws were broadcast live on the BBC.

### EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson. The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on 6 September, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.

### EFL Trophy

The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Salford City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Manchester United U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Rochdale | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Morecambe | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 | |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 August 2020 | LB | Stephen Hendrie | Kilmarnock | Free transfer |
| 2 August 2020 | CB | Harry Davis | Grimsby Town | Free transfer |
| 3 August 2020 | CB | Nathaniel Knight-Percival | Carlisle United | Free transfer |
| 4 August 2020 | CF | Liam McAlinden | Stockport County | Free transfer |
| 10 August 2020 | LM | Ben Pringle | Gillingham | Free transfer |
| 13 August 2020 | RB | Kelvin Mellor | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 22 September 2020 | LB | Liam Gibson | Newcastle United | Free transfer |
| 23 September 2020 | CB | Yann Songo'o | Scunthorpe United | Free transfer |
| 26 January 2021 | GK | Kyle Letheren | Chesterfield | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 5 August 2020 | GK | Jake Turner | Newcastle United | Recalled Jan 2021 |
| 11 August 2020 | RB | Ryan Cooney | Burnley | 30 June 2021 |
| 12 August 2020 | DM | Adam Phillips | Burnley | 1 February 2021 |
| 6 January 2021 | CM | Brad Lyons | Blackburn Rovers | 30 June 2021 |
| 22 January 2021 | GK | Jökull Andrésson | Reading | 29 January 2021 |
| 1 February 2021 | DM | Alex Denny | Salford City | End of season |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2020 | CB | Tom Brewitt | Tacoma Defiance | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | RB | Adam Buxton | Prestatyn Town | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | LW | Kevin Ellison | Newport County | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CF | Kyle Hawley | Stalybridge Celtic | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CF | Michael Howard | Marine | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Lamin Jagne | Unattached | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CF | Rhys Oates | Hartlepool United | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CB | Steven Old | East Kilbride | Rejected contract |
| 1 July 2020 | GK | Barry Roche | Retired | Retired |
| 1 July 2020 | CB | Ritchie Sutton | Altrincham | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Andrew Tutte | Bolton Wanderers | Released |
| 7 August 2020 | LB | Jordan Cranston | Solihull Moors | Undisclosed |
| 11 September 2020 | LB | Luke Conlan | AFC Fylde | Undisclosed |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Entire regular season played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however approximately 1,500 did attend the home leg of the Play-off semi-final.