Kee pen saves big
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO TOM HARLE
BILLY Kee’s secondhalf penalty earned Accrington Stanley a scrappy, yet valuable, point in an incidentpacked 1-1 draw with Barnet.
A trip to League Two’s bottom club seemed the ideal venue for Stanley to seal a fifth straight victory for the first time in the EFL.
But a sluggish start meant their poor recent record in North London continues, having only claimed one win from their last six visits.
The draw was a just result, if only for the sharp pressure the visitors exerted in a 20-minute second-half spell.
Yet John Coleman’s side were under the cosh early on and at the death, with the debatable nature of the penalty award lending a whiff of fortune about the outcome.
Barrel-chested Barnet striker John Akinde was the predictable reference point for all their attacks in the opening stages.
Akinde had the first sniff on 10 minutes, Mauro Vilhete’s return cross hanging under the bar with Jimmy Dunne having to get in the way of his goalbound header.
Accrington failed to heed the warning of early balls over the top and went behind on 18 minutes. Ricardo Almeida Santos stepped in to foil an attack and lobbed a ball over the back four that Akinde neatly cushioned down for Vilhete.
The winger slid Alex Nicholls into the box and, in acres of space, he slotted comfortably past Aaron Chapman.
It could have been two as Santos planted a header on goal where Chapman was equal to it.
In response, Jordan Clark’s set-piece deliveries were dangerous but that was about as close as Stanley came in a frustrating first-half display.
There were cries for handball when Clark’s free-kick from the right wing popped up and struck David Tutonda but appeals were ignored.
Within moments of his interval introduction, Erico Sousa skipped down the left and flashed a ball across the face of goal just too pacy for Kayden Jackson to tap home.
Liam Nolan tested home keeper Craig Ross with a firm half-volley, before skipper Seamus Conneely sent an effort over the bar.
The 184 Stanley fans behind the goal thought Clark had given their team the lead on 61 minutes when he combined with Kee but couldn’t quite guide his shot in from 18 yards.
They were celebrating five minutes later, though, when the equaliser came from the spot. Dunne went down under the challenge of Dan Sweeney, which was enough to earn a penalty crashed down the middle by Kee.
Kee has been involved in 12 goals in his last 11 appearances against the Bees, so it seemed inevitable he’d have his say.
Likewise Akinde was never far from the action and had a catalogue of chances to settle it late on.
He was first denied by Dunne’s flying block and then watched his header drop wide of the righthand post after beating Chapman to a long ball.
Chapman and Akinde collided running for a ball in injury-time, the home crowd baying for a penalty, but the referee gave nothing.
Coleman said: “That could turn out to be a good point in the end.
“We didn’t start the best but were far better in the second half, we battered them for half an hour.
“They’re fighting for their lives and are very direct. I don’t think anyone could complain about that result.”