Sykes strikes for Boro’s scalp
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY STANLEY........................... 4 MIDDLESBROUGH .......... 3 SHELDAN KEAY
ACCRINGTON Stanley picked up a big pre-season victory after scoring a late winner to defeat Championship side Middlesbrough at the Wham Stadium.
It looked like the match would end in a draw, but Ross Sykes scored three minutes from time to ensure the Reds came out on top.
Stanley boss John Coleman was pleased with the win, and praised his side for their performance throughout the 90 minutes.
“I like to win games so I was pleased that we got the goal at the end. We showed a desire to win and we’ve got to keep doing it,” he said.
“I thought we were terrific in the first half with our pressing and the passing we did. We moved the ball quickly, looked hungry to create chances and went in deserved leaders.
“They came back at us as they have some good players but we kept plugging away at the end and played some great football.
“It’s vital that we are scoring these goals and making chances, but we won’t get carried away as we’ve got to realise that it is still pre-season. We hope we can transmit this form into the league games.
“To be fair to Middlesbrough, their goal was one of the best you’ll see, and it was a fantastic game of football. It’s a pity that more didn’t come out to see it, as it’s the people staying away from the games who are missing out.”
It was Middlesbrough who opened the scoring on 16 minutes, when Paddy McNair fired home from close range to put the visitors ahead.
Stanley had a good chance to level things up straight away when they were awarded a penalty on 22 minutes after Ryan Shotton brought down Kayden Jackson in the box. They couldn’t take advantage, as Billy Kee fired the spot-kick wide.
Accrington did get their goal just after the half hour mark, as a Sean McConville corner when met by Mark Hughes, who headed home to make it 1-1.
Kee had the chance to make amends for his earlier penalty miss when his side were awarded another spot-kick just a few minutes later after Jordan Clark was fouled by George Friend. Kee made no mistakes on this occasion, tucking the penalty home to put his side in front.
It got even better for Accrington just before half-time when Jackson slotted home to hand the home side a 3-1 lead at the interval.
Both sides made changes at the break, but it was Middlesbrough who were the better team at the start of the second half and they reduced the deficit when Jonny Howson netted in impressive fash- ion to make it 3-2.
Adama Traore then equalised for Boro on 62 minutes, with Jonny Maxted unable to keep his shot out despite getting a hand to it, meaning the Championship side had now made it 3-3.
There were chances for both sides throughout the closing stages, with the likes of Lima Nolan, SAm Finley, Danny Williams and Will Wood coming on, but Stanley’s hopes of winning the game appeared to be fading.
That was until Sykes struck in the dying minutes, getting on the end of a header from Hughes before bundling the ball over the line and earning his side a dramatic late 4-3 victory over Middlesbrough.
SHELDAN KEAY
ACCRINGTON Stanley had to settle for a share of the spoils on Tuesday as they were held to a draw by Southport at Haig Avenue.
Stanley took the lead in the match at the start of the second half thanks to a goal from Billy Kee, but Nathan Lowe equalised for the non-league side with 20 minutes to go.
The result means that Accrington remain unbeaten in preseason, having netted 11 goals so far, and manager John Coleman was fairly pleased with the efforts against Southport.
“It was a good game, Southport will do well in the National League North next year. That’s the type of game we’re going to have to play this season,” he told the club’s official website.
“They pressed us well, they were quite physical, they had great delivery from set plays and caused us a lot of problems.
“We were very wasteful in possession at times, we tried to carry the ball a bit too much. I don’t think we moved the ball quickly enough and we got caught in possession trying to run with the ball.
“There were quite a few positives out there, it’s just that we need to move the ball quicker.
“We were guilty of trying to overplay when a direct pass was on and we were turning that down and trying to run with it too much, but that’s something we can address.