Stanley spot on
EFL TROPHY KNOCKOUT STAGE
ACCRINGTON Stanley progressed to the quarterfinals of the EFL Trophy after a penalty shootout victory over Fleetwood Town at Highbury.
The match was level at 2-2 after Ross Sykes scored a stoppage time equaliser for Stanley, going alongside Joe Pritchard’s opener and second half Fleetwood strikes from Josh Morris and Danny Andrew.
It meant it had to be decided by spot-kicks, with Stanley holding their nerve to clinch the win and enter the last eight of the tournament.
The first attempt of the game fell to Fleetwood, with Stanley goalkeeper Joe Bursik called into action to keep out an effort from Josh Morris
Stanley grew into the game as the half went on, but the windy conditions meant that neither side were able to create many clear-cut opportunities.
That changed on 35 minutes when the Reds took the lead. Dion Charles played the ball in from the right wing, and while Offrande Zanzala couldn’t make a firm connection in the six yard box, the ball fell to an unmarked Pritchard at the far post who fired home from close range to make it 1-0.
It remained that way at half-time, but it didn’t take Fleetwood long after the interval to level things up as they netted on 50 minutes.
A quickly taken short corner was played to Morris, who fired the ball into the box which evaded everyone and ended up in the back of the net.
It went from bad to worse for Accrington, as on 68 minutes Fleetwood took the lead.
The home side were awarded a free kick just on the edge of the box, allowing Danny Andrew to slot the set-piece into the net to make it 2- 1.
Stanley boss John Coleman turned to his substitutes to try and get back into the game, bringing on Wilson Carvalho, Erico Sousa and Harvey Rodgers
Fleetwood almost scored a third late on but Bursik made a superb save to deny top scorer Paddy Madden when he was clean through, and that proved to be a vital stop as just minutes later Accrington had equalised.
Carvalho’s initial strike hit a Fleetwood player and bounced into the path of defender Sykes, who smashed the ball into the net to make it 2-2.
Sousa almost won it in the dying seconds when his attempt hit the cross-. bar, but the two teams had to settle for a shootout to decide who came out on top.
There was surprise in the stadium when Stanley goalkeeper Bursik took the first penalty, but he converted it to ease the worries of the travelling Accrington fans.
Madden then smashed Fleetwood’s first penalty over the crossbar, handing the Reds the advantage.
Pritchard, Jerome Opoku and Charles scored their penalties for Stanley, while Andrew, Conor McAleny and Harrison Biggins netted for Fleetwood, making it 4-3 and giving Accrington the chance to win it with their fifth penalty.
Sam Finley took full advantage, scoring his penalty to make it 5-3 and earn Stanley an impressive victory.