Winner was birthday bonus for Russell

IT was a birthday weekend to cherish for 20-year-old Jon Russell, who scored the winning goal for Stanley on his full debut for the club.

Chelsea midfielder Russell had been used as a sub against Wimbledon the week previous but made his first start against Dale and came up with the finish to secure three points.

“I’m over the moon with the team performance and me getting the goal, it was my birthday the other day so it’s just a great weekend really,” he told the club’s official website.

“It’s been a top week, the lads are very welcoming and I’ve had fun. They’re nice guys and I get along with the manager, so I’m very happy to be here.

“My performance in the first half wasn’t great, but I adapted and made sure my performance after the break was much better.

“The goal is an added bonus and we’ve made history by beating Rochdale, we’re all very happy with what we’ve achieved.”

It was the second game running that Stanley had recovered from a goal down to win and Russell put that down to the confidence running through the squad.

“It’s about having faith to win every game, we don’t worry if we concede first but we’ve got to keep pushing and we’ve got the ability to beat any team in this league. We’ve got the confidence and we know we can win every game.”

With a third Chelsea loan signing arriving in Nathan Baxter, Russell said settling in had been easy at Accrington.

“It’s good to have two other players at the club that you know as it makes it more comfortable from the start,” he said.

“In football you get loans all over the place, so you’ve got to fully focus on yourself and the team in order to try and win every game.”