Ten men hold out to earn a valuable point
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO RYAN DOBNEY
TEN-MAN Accrington Stanley battled for more than 70 minutes a man down and managed to withstand a late Yeovil Town siege to earn a valuable point at Huish Parkon on Saturday.
It was an uphill task for the visitors after Scott Brown’s 20th minute dismissal, but despite being under pressure for large parts of the game, Stanley stretched their unbeaten run to eight.
Prior to kick-off the red’s manager John Coleman and the host’s head coach Darren Way elected to field unchanged sides that started against Leyton Orient and Barnet respectively.
The away side managed to barricade their goal in ancient fashion and the result ensures Coleman’s sides have now conceded just one goal in their last four games.
Compact and confident defence, Accrington showed just why they deserved respect after their recent form, as they were able to deal with the early chances created by Yeovil.
The best opportunities coming from defender Alex Lacey and striker Tom Eaves, the latter looking for his fifth of the season.
Yet the major talking point in the first-half came after when referee Nigel Miller brandished Scott Brown a red card after a reckless tackle on Zoko in midfield.
In reply Coleman made a double substitution after 31 minutes, bringing on Janoi Donacien and Noor Husin, sacrificing wingers Jordan Clark and Sean McConville.
As the first half reached a conclusion if it were not for goalkeeper Marek Rodak, who made two fantastic saves, the away side would surely have trailed coming into the break.
Buoyed from the half-time brief from Coleman, the reaction from the visitors was swift and deadly as Omar Beckles glanced his header into the far corner after 51 minutes following Shay McCarten’s ball into the box.
The response was quick from the Green and Whites yet Zoko’s back post header fortunately landed onto the roof of the net.
As Stanley were pushed deeper into their own half their resilience was finally ended with 15minutes left to play.
Zoko, who had threatened all game, manage to flick the ball beyond the desperate Rodak after a corner caused pandemonium in the Reds’ area.
The final few minutes of the game proved to be backs against the wall stuff but despite some late chances, the ten men of Accrington Stanley closed the game out.