Bentley hails Morecambe signings

Jim Bentley had words of praise for his two new loan signings after seeing Morecambe grab a point with a 1-1 draw at Carlisle.

Danny Ward was making his league debut in goal and Bentley forecast a bright future for the Liverpool youngster. Bentley said:"He's been on the bench for the first team at Liverpool and he's a great lad, really down to earth and a fantastic player with a great temperament for the occasion. "Danny made a great save in the first half and he can be very pleased with his league debut. Hopefully he will go on to bigger and better things in his career and remember his time at Morecambe as a stepping stone." It was also a chance for Bentley to add to his midfield options with a first appearance for Aaron Wildig and the Shrimps' boss was impressed with what he saw. "We needed a bit of freshness in midfield and he did a good job for the team," he explained. "He knows this level and has attributes to go on and further his career. His face isn't fitting at Shrewsbury at the moment and he can be pleased with his debut." With his side in mid-table Bentley is determined that Shrimps keeps pressing on to the end of the season. "That's four unbeaten on the road and there's plenty to play for," he added. "We have our professional pride and with the games we have coming up we want to get as many points on board as possible. "Carlisle are strong and physical and played some good stuff and we knew they would come out the traps. They pinned us back for long periods and we hit them on the counter attack in a typical away performance. " Carlisle should have been ahead long before Brad Potts fired them into the lead in the 53rd minute with a low shot from 25 yards. Substitute Paul Mullin won a 78th minute penalty for Morecambe and Padraig Amond stepped up to send Dan Hanford the wrong way from the spot. Jack Redshaw very nearly grabbed all three points for the visitors with a long range effort which crashed against the bar. Carlisle missed a chance to move further away from the relegation area, but manager Keith Curle was not too disappointed that his side did not rub home their first half supremacy. Curle said: "I look at it as a point gained rather than two points lost. The players' hard work and good intentions are starting to pay off. "We dominated the first 45 minutes against a good team but we lacked a bit of natural width in the second half." Speaking about the incident when Mullin went down in the area to win a penalty. Curle commented:"Whatever I say won't affect the result." The Carlisle manager preferred to remain upbeat about his side's performance and he added:"Expectation levels are growing and the players showed a good understanding and a good tempo and used the football well."