Morecambe 4-1 Notts County

Alan Smith was put in caretaker charge of Notts County after the departure of John Sheridan

Alan Smith's first game as Notts County manager ended in a heavy defeat as Morecambe produced a superb performance at the Globe Arena.

The former Manchester United man, who took charge following John Sheridan's sacking, could not stop his side crashing to a 10th-straight defeat.

The Shrimps had the perfect start as they took the lead after just two minutes. Lee Molyneux received the ball on the right and cut inside before firing a low left-footed effort that beat Scott Loach low to his right.

The home side continued to be a threat with Molyneux wasting a glorious chance for a second when he skewed a free shot wide before Paul Mullin forced Loach into a fine save with a shot from the edge of the box.

The pressure paid off for the hosts with Mullin adding a second on 27 minutes when he was in the right place at the right time to slot home the loose ball after Loach could only parry a Kevin Ellison cross back into the danger area.

Four minutes later it was 3-0 when the Shrimps were awarded a penalty for a Richard Duffy foul on Mullin, and Michael Rose stepped up to send Loach the wrong way from the spot.

The Magpies were given a lifeline when Morecambe midfielder Andy Fleming received a straight-red card for a tackle on Curtis Thompson on the stroke of half-time.

Despite dominating the possession in the second half, the visitors rarely threatened the Morecambe goal.

Barry Roche produced one superb save to deny Adam Campbell before the visitors pulled one back nine minutes from time with a neat finish by Jonathan Forte from a Jon Stead lay-off.

As the visitors pushed forward the home side added a fourth at the death when Kevin Ellison slotted home the rebound after substitute Luke Jordan hit the woodwork following a fine run and shot.

Report supplied by the Press Association.