All’s well that ends well for Accrington
ACCRINGTON fans and manager John Coleman went home happy after their battling side came from behind to see off fellow strugglers Mansfield at the Crown Ground.
It was the proverbial game of two halves, and only Stanley’s second victory in 14 games as they have stuttered worryingly towards the summer holidays.
No wonder Coleman was full of smiles after the game. He said:“You couldn’t have got two more contrasting halves than that.
“In the first we were absolutely diabolical. There were a lot of harsh words said in the dressing room at halftime.We didn’t really hold back, but we got the response we were after.
“That’s been the frustrating thing towards the end of the season.
“We’ve switched off far too often for long spells. We need to play for the full 90 minutes because we’ve seen recently what can happen if you don’t.
“I’m delighted for the fans that we’ve signed off with a win, though. They pay their hard-earned money to come here and watch us and they deserve lots of credit.”
The Stags enjoyed the better of the first half and deservedly opened the scoring six minutes before the break.
It was Jamie McGuire who chose the final game of a tough campaign to register his first goal of the season, firing clinical- ly past Scott Davies from 15 yards after Junior Brown’s pass was deflected fortunately into his path.
Before that there had been precious little quality on show from two sides who were ending the campaign in dismal form.
Jack Thomas almost opened the scoring for Mansfield, but was denied by a smart stop.
Stanley were transformed in the second half. Their comeback began when Seamus Conneely lashed home his third goal in five games on the rebound after Josh Windass’s header was saved.
The turnaround was completed with 18 minutes to go. After latching on to a fine pass from the impressive Windass, Terry Gornell squeezed home his ninth of the season.
The visitors rarely threatened thereafter and slipped to a miserable eighth defeat in nine and boss Adam Murray was understandably annoyed.
He said:“Once again our inconsistency has been highlighted in this game. To be honest, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than for this season to end.
“We’ve been lacklustre in the second half and some of the attitudes out there simply weren’t acceptable.
“Some players have signed their own death warrants over the past couple of months.”