Scarborough scoring ace Bimbo Fatokun produced the easiest possible winning goal in the last minute in this seaside Battle of the Roses.
But it was a game in which a draw would have been a fair result, with Morecambe, still without an away a win, battling hard in the first half, putting the home defence under heavy pressure.
The Lancastrians almost snatched a goal in the first minute when Wayne Curtis produced a neat shot which went narrowly wide of the far post, a scene which was to be replicated at each end throughout the game as chances were missed in a match which should have seen several goals.
Scarborough could find little reply in the early stages to Morecambe's polished initiatives, but their hopes were raised when Olivier Brassart forced keeper Craig Mawson to dive full length to save.
Morecambe, fourth in the Conference, had further chances through Stewart Drummond and Curtis, while Fatokun had a good chance to put Scarborough ahead with a header but it scraped over the bar.
Both goals came under fire before the interval, but play found new life after the re-start with the first corner being produced after 50 minutes.
Scarborough showed more confidence, but Morecambe created some dangerous moves, with Gary Thompson, Adriano Rigoglioso and Curtis all going close.
Boro's Karl Rose blasted a fine shot narrowly over the bar and Fatokun should have netted after beating keeper Mawson, only to be intercepted by a defender on the goal-line.
Scarborough tightened their grip with substitute Neil Campbell testing an on-form Mawson, while Rose had a chance blocked by the defence after weaving his way past the keeper.
Then with just a minute of ordinary time to go, Fatokun seized on a loose ball and was allowed to almost walk it over the line into the open goal.
Thompson nearly got an injury-time equaliser but was denied at the post