Reds battle for
SKY BET LEAGUE ONE STANLEY........................... 2 OXFORD UTD .................. 2
ACCRINGTON Stanley came from behind on two occasions as they picked up a point at home to inform Oxford United.
Jordan Clark and Offrande Zanzala scored second half goals for the Reds to ensure they took a share of the spoils from the game at the Wham Stadium.
The result has left Stanley in 18th place in the League One table after going unbeaten in their last four games, and manager John Coleman praised his side for the response they showed in the second half.
“I thought we were absolutely magnificent in the second half, I’m really proud of the lads and the lads should be proud of themselves. We’ve scored two good goals, we’ve hit the woodwork twice,” he said.
“They’re a good team and to finish the way we did shows we’re going in the right direction.
“You can’t legislate for them taking the lead with a 30-yarder into the top corner, it’s a great strike by (Cameron) Brannagan.
“Five minutes earlier, Sam’s three inches away from doing the same and that’s just the way the luck of the draw goes at the moment.
“That same post was hit by Blackpool in the last minute against us, it hits the post and it goes in, our one hits the post and goes out.
“You can be the best manager in the world but unless you’re lucky, you haven’t got much of a chance.”
“Offrande Zanzala was like a breath of fresh air when he came on, it’s good to be able to have another option which we haven’t always had in the past.
“He was electric in the second half, he scored a good goal and was instrumental in everything we did going forward, he worked his socks off along with everybody else.”
Both teams started the game well, but it was the visitors who had the first major chance when it looked like they would have a free shot on the edge of the box, but Jerome Opoku put in a well-timed tackle to clear the danger.
Oxford were having the better share of possession as the match progressed, and they got the opening goal of the game on 28 minutes.
Former Stanley player Tariqe Fosu was the man to get it, as he dribbled past several Accrington players before firing a shot past Dimi Evtimov and into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 to the visitors.
Tempers flared just before half-time when there was an incident involving Opouku, James Henry and Jamie Mackie, with all of the players receiving yellow cards.
Coleman made a change at the break as his side looked to get back on level terms, bringing on Offrande Zanzala in place of Dion Charles, with Zanzala making his first appearance of the season after injury.
Accrington were extremely determined in the second half, and their hard work was rewarded when they levelled things up just before the hour mark.
Joe Prtichard’s free-kick eventually found its way to Clark, who nodded home to make it 1-1.
Stanley almost scored again when Sam Finley hit the post, but Oxford then re-took the lead against the run of play when Cameron Brannagan fired past Evtimov from outside the box.
Coleman’s men continued to attack though and just three minutes later they had equalised for the second time when substitute Zanzala fired into the bottom corner to mark his return with a goal.
The hosts thought they had won it late on but Oxford goalkeeper Simon Eastwood made a good save to deny Pritchard, with the game finishing 2-2.