Super Reds rise
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO STANLEY........................... 4 BARNET............................. 1 JACQUE TALBOT
ASUPERB Accrington Stanley performance saw John Coleman’s side jump to second place in the League Two table on Saturday after a dominant 4-1 victory at the Wham Stadium over struggling Barnet FC.
A cracking effort from Sean McConville in the first half opened the scoring before midfielder Jordan Clark doubled the home side’s lead with a strike into the bottom corner.
In the second half, Bees’ winger Jamal CampbellRyce brought one back for the visitors, but the game was killed off by forward Billy Kee on the hour mark, before Kayden Jackson made it 4-1 with an easy tap-in late-on.
The win puts the Lancashire side firmly in contention for the automatic promotion places, with a pleased Coleman saying after the game: “I thought we were terrific: from the first minute to the last minute, we had a gameplan. In training as well; we have scored some great goals, built up some great moves. We had plenty of shots, plenty of chances.
“It is also great that both your two strikers score and two wingers score. So that is our four forward players scoring goals – a manager’s dream. We did not get downbeat when the referee decided to wave the penalty away and we did not get downbeat when they scored, so that means we have a belief in ourselves at the moment, and when that comes off, it is very pleasing as a manager.”
The visitors had started brightly, with Alex Nicholls’ picking out Mauro Vilhete, who was pacing down the wing.
The 24-year-old’s attempted cross, though, deflected behind and went out for a corner.
Bees goalkeeper Craig Ross then pulled off a good save after in-form striker Kee – now the league’s top goal-scorer – tried to head the ball downwards, Ross denying him with a dazzlingly good save.
Then, midfielder McConville got the home side their deserved opener and his fourth of the season, rocketing the ball high into the net after being fed in by Kee.
Ryan Watson was the first player from the Barnet side to get a shot on target. His long-range pile-driver forced the towering Tom Chapman to punch the ball away using both hands.