Mike Blackstone Column: Mike watches Shrimps grow up
It goes back to the 1983-84 season and a Northern Premier League fixture played at Morecambe's Christie Park. Their opponents that day were Matlock Town.
This was the first time I had been to the ground and I joined the 'crowd' which only numbered a few hundred. Morecambe won 2-0.
This was a particularly good win for the hosts, considering they eventually finished the season fourth from bottom, while Matlock were runners-up.
Had someone at the time said to me I would be living in Morecambe in years to come and that the Shrimps would be meeting Exeter City, not only at Wembley, but also in the Football League, I would have dismissed the notion as being simply too far fetched.
But it's strange how life and time pans out, and yes, I do live in Morecambe, and the Grecians and the Shrimps have now duly met both at Wembley and in the Football League, as they do this afternoon.
Both clubs have undergone major transformations since 1983-84, with City having lost their League status altogether in 2003, while Morecambe's dreams of becoming a Football League club have been fulfilled.
We don't really need reminding of the day at Wembley — at least the first time we visited — as City lost out to Morecambe and a chance to return to the Football League.
Thankfully City got another opportunity a yearlater and grabbed it with both hands as they beat Cambridge United, thanks to a Rob Edwards goal.
No one could have predicted what has happened this season with City now on the brink of another possible promotion.
All this is a far cry from that first season of Conference football in 2003/04. After the previous 12 months when the club hit rock bottom and almost went out of existence, City were simply thankful to be playing at all.
So supporters and players had the likes of Margate, Leigh RMI, Tamworth and Scarborough to look forward to. Better that than nothing at all and the stay in non-league actually proved very enjoyable.
City also crossed paths for the very first time with Morecambe. The first meeting at St James's Park took place on November 15 2003 with City running out 4-0 winners. Sean Devine bagged a double that daywith Alex Jeannin and Gareth Sheldon getting the others as City found themselves in fifth place in the Conference.
By then I had indeed moved to Morecambe to live in December 2002, and though I was devastated by City's demise four months later, I did have one advantage: a 'home' match when the Grecians visited Morecambe for their first ever visit to Christie Park.
That game took place on March 20 2004 when it was not only good to meet up with so many familiar people again, both outside and inside the ground, but also due to the fact that City completed the double over Morecambe with a 3-0 victory. The goals that afternoon came from James Coppinger, Sean Canham and Les Afful.
As things have worked out, apart from one season — 2007/08 — Exeter and Morecambe have met each other every season since.
Whether this will still be the case next season is anyone's guess, but from Exeter City's point of view, they want to be in League One.
And just in case anyone is wondering, Matlock Town, who I saw at Christie Park in 1983-84, are currently still playing in the Northern Premier League, or the Unibond League as it is now known.
Exeter City line-up v Morecambe (November 15, 2003, att. 2,900): James Bittner, Scott Hiley, Alex Jeannin, Glenn Cronin, Santos Gaia, Chris Todd, Barry McConnell (Reinier Moor), Gareth Sheldon (Kwame Ampadu), James Coppinger (Andy Taylor), Sean Devine, Dwayne Lee.
