Slick Stanley hit
SKY BET LEAGUE ONE JOSH COOK
ACCRINGTON Stanley emphatically beat Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night to go level on points with Sunderland in the Sky Bet League One play-off places.
There was a hattrick for Dion Charles, a brace for Colby Bishop and a goal for Joe Pritchard as the Reds ran out 6-1 winners as the torrential rain slapped into every corner of the Crown Ground.
John Coleman’s team would be forgiven for being a little leggy in the match, the Reds completed a 600+ mile round trip at the weekend to pick up a point at Plymouth Argyle, cementing a strong week for the Reds on the pitch. Rovers however, have certainly felt the January blues, the ‘Gas’ were winless in five as they travelled to East Lancashire.
Kick off was delayed for 30 minutes prior to the game as Stanley staff battled the elements and did all they could to defeat the February Accrington weather. As the rain battered the Jack Barrett Stand where the media sat, the teams eventually emerged, and the game got underway.
Any of the poor souls braving the storm didn’t have to wait too long for action, as the game heated up from the very beginning.
It took just four minutes for Pritchard to have Stanley’s first effort, cutting in from the right wing, he was shown on to his left foot and struck high over Joe Day’s crossbar. A sign of things to come for the helpless Rovers keeper.
All the early action involved Pritchard, on six minutes he received the games first booking, and two minutes later, he opened the scoring.
It was a neat move from Stanley, the ball being fed to target man Charles, who’s best night was only just beginning, he played the ball forward to his strike partner Bishop. Bishop did well to get a cross into the area, and an unmarked Pritchard was waiting deep in the back corner of the six-yard box to smash Stanley into an early lead.
The lead would only last four minutes however, as Rovers struck back decisively on 11 minutes. Mark Hughes, usually so reliable for Stanley, was at fault. Day played a hopeful ball forward, with no one around him Hughes miss-controlled and the ball was seized upon by Sam Nicholson. The Striker made no mistake and slotted past Nathan Baxter to draw his side level.
If Stanley fans were worried that they had let an early lead slip, they barely had time to complain as Stanley struck again less than a minute after conceding.
Rovers failed to clear their lines and Charles turned his man and shot low to Day’s right to reinstate the lead and spare Hughes’s blushes in the back line.
Stanley looked in the mood and began to turn the screw to find a third, the passing at times, in terrible conditions was sublime and reeked of quality, the quality that puts Stanley in the position they find themselves in during this campaign.
Five minutes later, Stanley had the third and Charles had his second. Bristol Rovers have never won in Accrington before, and before the game had developed into infancy they had a real mountain to climb. It was simple again, a long ball from Baxter caught the Visitors defence napping and Charles was able to gallop through and volley past Day.
As we approached the half hour mark, Stanley pulled a magnificent save out of Day and headed wide from the resulting corner. In truth, Rovers were at sixes and sevens.
Stanley again forced a corner and Bishop rose highest to again break the
the match but I thought Colby just pipped it tonight.”
The emphatic win pushes Stanley up to seventh in the league table, they have two games in hand on Sunderland, who occupy sixth and the last play-off position, the sides are now on equal points.
The Stanley boss was adamant his team will only get better - “We can’t rest on this, the minute you start doing that you’ll go backwards. We need to carry on improving.”
Stanley now host Northampton Town this weekend in hope of continuing this play-off push.
I THINK after a 300+ mile trip we’d always take a point away at Plymouth.
Granted, we took the lead in the game twice but in the second half, only the most ignorant amongst us would say we deserved to win the game. Like I say, you take it all day, not much more to say about it.
Well, Monday’s deadline day proved to be quite entertaining. It’s not exactly something that we’re used to with Stanley, signing players (in general), but also on deadline day. I think I could get quite behind the fun you know, maybe next year I’ll don a yellow tie and sit like Jim White awaiting our signings… maybe not though.
The reason that it was that little bit sweeter than usual was because, judging by the reaction (meltdown) of our friends just North of Heysham, we seem to have nicked Morecambe’s best player. They’re having their best season for a decade, with a real hope of a play-off place under Derek Adams, and we’ve just rang up Sean Dyche and nabbed him right under their noses. Boosting our options in midfield as well as de-railing a Morecambe promotion push hours before the deadline closed? It’s not usually my birthday until March, but, what a gift from the powers that be in 2021.
Unfortunately for Morecambe, it isn’t 2003 anymore, and we have overtaken them as the ‘bigger club’. We used to travel to Christie Park and dream of having their crowd, stadium even, it was a cracker. But, as the years have gone on, that faded, helped by their move to the soulless home they now play at. The last five years have cemented our place in much safer footing than our old rivals, but stranger things happen in football and that can all change very quickly. I hope they do well, just not as well as us. And it was