Hard work got us to top says Coley

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO MANSFIELD ................. 0 STANLEY....................... 1 JASON JONES

ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman has attributed his side’s extraordinary run of form to hard work and a unified spirit at the club.

A header from captain Seamus Conneely was enough to see off ten-man Mansfield and extend Stanley’s unbeaten run in the league to 10 matches on Good Friday.

Following the win, Coleman told the club’s official website: “The one thing I’ve said all along is that from our players you’re getting maximum effort from them all.

“No-one’s coasting, towards the end of the first half, tipping over sublimely from a close range Rhys Bennett header.

After the break it was the ten men who continued to press. Kane Hemmings came the closest to putting them ahead, sidefooting wide from a low cross when unmarked in the box.

But the numerical advantage would eventually pay dividends for Accrington. Captain Conneely rose highest to meet a Sean McConville corner and give his team the lead on the hour mark.

Stanley could have doubled their lead through the lively Jackson with five minutes to go, but the pacy forward saw his effort well saved by Mansfield keeper Conrad Logan.

The Stags had lost just the one league game at home this season, all the way back in October, and looked determined to keep that impressive record intact. A number of goalmouth scrambles caused some nervy moments for Stanley, but they were able to weather the storm and hang on for all three points.

The win puts Accrington in a commanding position in the race for promotion, but manager Coleman is keen to keep his players’ focused on the job at hand.

He said: “We’ve still got a long, long way to go. We’e got eight games and we’ve got to keep our heads down and not worry about anybody else, just worry about ourselves. It is still very much in our own hands, we’ve just got to keep winning. Every game we play is a difficult game, I keep saying this, but I think people are starting to believe in us.”

Referring to his side’s unlikely rise to the top of the table he added: “We’ve got to not get ahead of ourselves and not get carried away. It’s a nice story, but it’s only going to be a nice story if the job gets done.”