Coley: Win was for our OAP fans
ACCRINGTON Stanley ended a 60-year wait for a home win against rivals Rochdale – and boss John Coleman dedicated the victory to seventysomething Reds fans!
Stanley came from behind to win 2-1 at the Wham Stadium, breaking a run of six consecutive defeats to Dale and ending a long wait for three points on home turf against the club Coleman once managed.
It means the Reds go into this weekend’s clash against top-of-the-table Ipswich Town looking for a third League One win on the bounce.
“That was a present for all the septuagenarians!” joked Coleman. “Sixty years is a long time – we went a bit overboard with the team talk before the game telling the lads they could make history and there’d be statues, effigies and pictures in museums! We had to try to motivate them and you can’t get too bogged down with one team.
“I was one of the Rochdale managers who beat Accrington here when I was at Rochdale – so I have won in this fixture before! You can get bogged down in it and I was determined not to let it affect me. We never mentioned it really until an hour before kick off, the fact we haven’t won this game in sixty years here.
“Every team we play in this league is going to be difficult and every win you get you’ve got to celebrate like it means the world, and it does mean the world to us. But now we move on and I’m sure Brian (Barry-Murphy) is the same.
“We dominated for long periods but once we got our noses in front, psychology kicks in and we got a bit nervy. Thankfully we got over the line and won the game.
“It was like deja vu when they went in front, but getting back into the game so quickly and then obviously taking the lead as well was quite similar to last week against Wimbledon, one goal became two very quickly and then we had to dig deeply to see it out because Rochdale came on strong and as I say, they are a good side with good players, game players with a good work ethic.
“The ground staff did well to get the game on with the weather that we’ve had – the pitch was a little bit lively and we could probably have done with a downpour during the game. I think it affected both sides.”
While Stanley head into the weekend’s game in good form, Coleman insists they are far from the finished article. But he has been buoyed by the atmosphere among the players and their willingness to put in the hard yards.
“We are a work in progress and we’re trying to get better, develop the young lads, who are giving their all for the club,” he said.
“The atmosphere in the dressing room is great – the lads who are playing, the subs and the ones who are not even getting a shirt, they are all behind each other. You can see that in training every day. The tempo in the week was absolutely fantastic and hopefully we can carry that on.”