Pantomime villain Ellison has last laugh against Bradford City (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Pantomime villain Ellison has last laugh against Bradford City

6:40am Monday 16th January 2012

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City 2, Morecambe 2

James Hanson would have been advised to switch his phone off on Saturday night. The City striker was in for a long evening otherwise from a text pest.

Kevin Ellison planned to give Hanson a hard time after netting Morecambe’s dramatic second equaliser only hours earlier.

That took his former team-mate one goal ahead of City’s top marksman; another little victory on a day when Ellison had the last defiant say on every Valley Parade critic.

He is the original Marmite man of League Two; the winger who could stir up a fight in a phone box. Love him or loathe him, Ellison is hard to ignore.

A stiff back restricted him to the last 20 minutes on his return to West Yorkshire but that was enough for a full repertoire of tricks.

There were the usual dark arts – throttling Craig Fagan and then an apparent clothes line on Ritchie Jones in the build-up to Morecambe’s first goal – and then the superb finish on his weaker right foot to level again in stoppage time.

All this against the backdrop of abuse that he carries like a badge of honour. No wonder Ellison milked it at the final whistle, lapping up the moment as the cat calls continued to rain down.

He smiled: “I was getting stick from the first minute I warmed up but I expect that. But I gave a bit back and some people don’t like that.

“Half of them must get bullied at home by the missus so they come to the game and have a shout at the big bald ugly one – and it’s back-fired.

“They were mouthing off and shouting ‘you’re finished, you’re this, you’re that’ and loads of stuff I can’t repeat. So, yeah, it was good to score.

“When Bradford scored the second time, I looked at the clock and it was as good as over. But we went straight up the other end.

“Bradford have been flying recently and it was good to keep big Hanson quiet and not on the scoresheet.

“There’s a little personal battle between me and him. He’s got nine goals in the league and now I’ve just sneaked above him up to ten, so I’ll be letting him know!”

It was a dramatic finale to an eventful afternoon. Encounters with Morecambe usually are.

Four months earlier, it was City celebrating the smash-and-grab point when Ross Hannah’s late intervention earned a first point for Phil Parkinson as manager.

So Jim Bentley’s Shrimps will feel that Ellison settled a score on their behalf just as much as his own.

The old cliche that it felt like a defeat summed up the mood that engulfed Valley Parade afterwards. But the fans shouldn’t get too downcast.

This was another uplifting display from their team despite the eventual stalemate. On the back of the Crewe and Shrewsbury games, there was again plenty for the home crowd to cheer about.

The drama had begun before the game when Ricky Ravenhill went down during City’s training routine.

The midfield battler had turned over his ankle and needed ten minutes of intensive treatment from physio Dave Hanson while those in the ground looked on anxiously.

Ravenhill has quickly become such a key player in Parkinson’s plans. To lose him on top of David Syers and Michael Flynn would have left a giant hole in the team’s engine room.

Chris Mitchell was being prepared for action behind the scenes as Hanson strapped up the injury and put the new signing through his paces. Gingerly at first, Ravenhill did enough to assure everyone he was fit for battle.

He then proceeded to underline just why Parkinson was so chuffed to get him on a permanent deal for the next two and a half years.

As the manager said, Ravenhill sets the tone and tempo for the team. The high-energy, pressing efforts that are becoming a hallmark of Parkinson’s reign are typified by the fella at the heart of proceedings.

Ultimately his switch to right back, forced by the injuries to Luke Oliver and Rob Kozluk, cost City their balance. Both Morecambe goals originated from that side.

But it would be harsh to point the finger at the emergency reshuffle. Ravenhill had already put in a real shift in his own position which should have been enough to secure a third home win on the bounce.

The first half had been fairly mundane, with little indication of the drama that was to unfold. The pitch didn’t help but City had adapted better and tried to pass their way round Morecambe’s rehashed system.

The visitors turned up with three centre halves but City adapted to that unexpected tactic and the Hanson and Nahki Wells attacking combo was again making waves.

One Hanson knock-down just evaded the Bermudian and then Wells appeared to be tumbled by goalkeeper Barry Roche as he tried to reach another. But the closest City came was a fizzing long-range effort from Jones which Roche fingered over the bar.

Home hopes took a knock with the worrying sight of Oliver limping away just before the hour mark. The standing ovation and chant that accompanied his departure showed how much the lanky defender’s fortunes have changed.

Once seen by fans as an unwanted legacy of the Peter Taylor era, Oliver’s name is arguably now the first on the teamsheet. He will be sorely missed while the hamstring heals.

But there was no immediate problem for City as Wells stretched Roche into a tumbling save – and the corner produced the breakthrough.

Andrew Davies hooked the ball back into the box where it was cleared as far as Ravenhill, who met it with a scorching strike from 20 yards.

City had the bit between their teeth now and substitute Mark Stewart slid a ball just out of reach of Hanson running in at the back post. Then Wells was a bit too casual with a shot on the spin, ballooning over after good interplay with Kozluk.

But Ellison’s arrival changed the dynamic. First he headed down for Lewis Alessandra to jab wide, before grabbing City skipper Fagan in a confrontation on the halfway line.

With four minutes left, he knocked over Jones off the ball. But referee Scott Mathieson played on as Morecambe broke and Laurence Wilson’s cross was turned into his own net by the sliding Davies.

A sense of injustice simmered, only for Marcel Seip to restore City’s advantage. Hanson’s shot was blocked by a smothering defender and, while his team shouted in vain for handball, the Dutchman coolly took a touch before picking his spot in the bottom corner.

Ravenhill, who had signed on Thursday, and Seip, due to put pen to paper today, had both shown their commitment to the City cause by scoring the goals. It would have made a good story.

Unfortunately there was one last twist to follow. Morecambe again attacked the home side’s weakened right flank, Jason Price set up Ellison and the panto villain fired beyond the reach of Jon McLaughlin.

Attendance: 10,065

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