17 mins Chopra shot 1-0
Half time: Rovers 0 Newcastle 1
Full time: Rovers 0 Newcastle 1
Goalscorer Michael Chopra commented to
the Chronicle:
"The main thing for me was to play
90 minutes because I haven't done that for a long time.
"But the more match
fitness I can build up the better and I am pleased to be involved in a game we
won.
"For me that is 13
goals in 12 matches for the reserves and, as I said all season, this is what I
need to be doing to keep knocking on the first-team door.
"At the end of the
day, my contract is up in the summer and if I don't get a new one here I have to
keep other clubs interested - and the best way to do that is to score goals.
"The pitch was not
the best but we battled on and got the 1-0 win.
"It was tough in the
second half, but we've ground a result out and probably could have had one or
two more, yet I think this is still a good result."
Meanwhile, coach Tommy Craig spoke to the official site and said:
"It was an awful night to play football, the wind was a problem and the rain made the pitch really heavy.
But we coped well with everything, and I felt we were well worth the win.
"It wasn't a game where there were a lot of chances, but we kept them on the back foot at times, we tried to pass it around when we could, and we defended well when called upon.
"Chops took his goal well, it was a great time to score just before half time and once we were in front it was a case of making sure we didn't let them back into the game.
"Overall, it was an excellent, battling team performance and a deserved three points."
A close-range effort from striker Michael Chopra
proved to be the difference between the two sides at a damp and blustery
Christie Park on Monday night.
Returning to league action after almost a month, Tommy Craig's reserve side
once again profited from their trip to the Lancashire coast.
That's now three victories and a draw from our four matches at Morecambe
against Rovers in as many seasons.
There was little to choose between the sides until
Chopra pounced five minutes before half time.
Rovers 'keeper Richard Lee blocked his first
effort but was unable to prevent the follow -up, as Chopra made it thirteen
goals for the season at this level on his twelfth appearance.
And it was Chopra who came closest to extending our lead after the break in
this unremarkable encounter, shooting over the crossbar when well-placed on
70 and 88 minutes.
At the other end, United 'keeper Fraser Forster marked his reserve team
debut with a late fingertip save from substitute striker Raffaele de Vita,
having earlier seen Paul Dickov miss the target on three occasions.
Biffa
Reserves