Report by Dave Seddon - Wigan Evening Post

THE official opening of the JJB Stadium on Wednesday will see the stars from Manchester United in town, but whatever fun and fireworks are on offer, nothing will beat the dramatic scenes witnessed at yesterday's dress rehearsal.

Britain's newest sports arena staged it's first match against a spectacular backdrop of an electric storm which rumbled on for almost the entire 90 minutes.

Forks of lightning, claps of thunder and rain by the bucketload which hammered down on the stadium's plastic roof and tested the £750,000 pitch to the full, made it an afternoon to remember.

The action on the pitch was nothing to write home -a mainly low-key affair common for this stage of the pre-season - but the weather lifted it in a way, ensuring that not too many of the spectators went home disappointed.

Of course, Latics would have liked to have started their tenancy in the stadium with a couple of goals and a win, but non-league Morecambe rode their luck and provided John Benson's side with a stern test.

They even threatened to write a little bit of history themselves by becoming the first team to score at the JJB, but couldn't quite find a way past Roy Carroll or his second half replacement Derek Stillie.

The game saw new signings Arjan de Zeeuw, Kevin Nicholls, Brian McLaughlin and Stillie given their home debuts.

De Zeeuw looked comfortable enough in the centre of defence alongside Stuart Balmer, while Nicholls enjoyed a busy role in the midfield before fading in the second half as a lack of match fitness took it's toll.

McLaughlin produced some flashes down the left wing after being introduced after the interval, while Stillie looked safe enough.

Dutch trialist Brian Tevreden was handed the number three shirt as Benson continued his quest to find a temporary replacement for the injured Kevin Sharp.

But judging by the manager's comments after the game, it appears that the lad from Holland will not be wearing the number three  shirt against Scunthorpe on Saturday.

He looked okay in the left back slot, but nothing really out of the ordinary.

The rain started falling within minutes of the kick off, by which time Latics could have found themselves ahead courtesy of a chance created with just 21 seconds on the clock.

Andy Liddell slipped a pass through the visitors' defence to Simon Haworth, but the Welsh striker's low shot was blocked by the legs of goalkeeper Andy Banks.

It wasn't quite Haworth's afternoon, as he went on to hit the woodwork THREE times.

In the mean time with the rain getting heavier and the lightning more spectacular, Liddell saw a near post flick easily gathered by Banks, while at the other end, a curling free kick from Gardner sailed high and wide.

Benson shuffled his pack at half-time, with Stillie, McLaughlin, Pat McGibbon and Stuart Barlow introduced to the action.

And the changes almost paid dividends four minutes into the second half when Barlow's cross was volleyed against the post by Haworth.

Within 60 seconds, Morecambe went close when a shot from Phil Eastwood was saved by Stillie at the second attempt.

The former Burnley striker was denied again in the 54th minute when Stillie saved his angled shot.

Haworth hit the woodwork for a second time just after the hour, chipping over Banks and on to the bar after Andy Porter's slide rule pass had sent him clear into the box.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon accompanied Roberto Martinez's introduction in the 70th minute, and the Spaniard certainly kept himself busy during his time on the pitch.

Barlow twice went close to finding the net within the space of two minutes, nodding wide from McLaughlin's cross after 74 minutes, then seeing a diving header drop inches past the far post.

With five minutes left, Martinez's 25 yard drive was parried by banks and the keeper was back on his feet to block Barlow's follow up effort.

And Latics kept up the pressure until the end, forcing two great chances in the dying seconds.

After 90 minutes Porter's, low shot was kicked off the line by substitute Paul McGuire and the ball rebounded to Haworth, only for Banks to smother his effort.

Then a minute into stoppage time, a left wing corner from McLaughlin  was met by Haworth but his header smacked against the bar and away to safety.

Next up are treble-winners Manchester United - let's see if the likes of Beckham, Scholes and Yorke or whoever Sir Alex Ferguson decides to send can produce the same 'electric' action as yesterday!