Stanley boss glad to have made point
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO JACQUE TALBOT
JOHN Coleman was happy to take a point from Saturday’s clash against a Cheltenham side who finished the game in the ascendency and passed up several chances to win it.
For their part, the home side were not quite on their A game.
No sooner had Mohamed Eisa opened the scoring from close range for the Robins just before halftime than Kayden Jackson levelled with assured finish.
Coleman put it down to just one of those games: “For whatever reason, we just didn’t look as if we believed we could win the game. We were very upbeat in the first half, making chances, but I think sometimes you just have to take a step back and congratulate the opposition.”
Stanley looked to have instructions to kill the game off early, as, inside three minutes, Aaron Chapman whacked a long ball over the top to Jackson, who mistimed a trap and the ball rolled off his shins and into goalkeeper Scott Finder’s grasp.
The attacker, though, pushed on still. Inside six minutes, he found himself out on the right. He took a swipe at the ball but Stanley player of the month Billy Kee was unable to connect at the far end.
Kee, who was being hounded throughout the half by the opposition despite no fouls given from referee Andy Haines, rose the highest, inside nine minutes, and knocked the ball to Jackson, but again Flinders snubbed an opening goal for Stanley.
Then, Kee played the ball Sean McConville out wide. The midfielder turned outside and delivered a neat cross, to which Kee got on the end of, but his glancing header went over the top, inside 22 minutes.
On the half hour mark, just after the battered Kee had a penalty claim waved away, a cross from Jordan Clark somehow went through Kee’s feet, leaving Flinders scrabbling on the ground.
On the rebound, the ball found its way to Liam Nolan, who cracked a shot against the crossbar before it hit Flinders’ back. Travelling towards the goal line, it was booted clear by the defence.
Inside 36 minutes, confusion in the box led to Mohamed Eisa nipping the ball over the oncoming Chapman, to give the visitors a surprise lead.
Manager Coleman, as ever, stood calm. It was like Coleman knew what was next, as, one minute later, forward Jackson finally got his goal, his sixth of the season, with confident finish inside the box.
Just before half-time, Cheltenham earned another free-kick and this prompted the normally reserved Coleman turn to the home support and loudly complain about the seemingly onesided decisions from referee Haines. It was met with a round of applause.
Just after the break, the breathless Jackson went down under a heavy challenge and soon after he was replaced by Mallik Wilks. The Leeds United loanee made a clever interchange on the edge of the box with Kee, but it ended with a dragged shot wide.
But, mostly, it seemed that Stanley’s energy had departed with the injured Jackson.
Cheltenham substitute Jerell Sellars caught the Stanley midfield napping and stormed through the middle. Mark Hughes, though, was there to deflect the ball over the bar.
Coleman later reflected: “The last ten minutes we were probably lucky to get away with a draw. I think on the balance of the game, a draw was a fair result.”