COLEMAN PILGRIMS
Jervis hands visitors the
ACCRINGTON boss John Coleman believes a dramatic late win over promotion rivals Plymouth can help push his side into a timely run of form.
Jake Jervis headed Argyle into an early lead, but Stanley clawed back to win through Billy Kee’s 85th-minute penalty and Shay McCartan’s stoppage-time winner.
Stanley were banging on the door for the entire second half, and Coleman feels the last-gasp goals were just what his players deserved.
“I’m delighted for them because we took the game to Plymouth from the off,” said Coleman.
“We kept going and we kept trying to play the ball and pass it. We were patient and I think we got what we deserved.
“We wanted to keep the back door shut second half and didn’t want to concede again, but we wanted to try and pin them in as much as we could.
“It’s a massive win for us. We’ve been on a bad run and you can quickly feel like the wheels are coming off – players can lose heart. But that’s galvanised us.”
With both sides chasing promotion they may have been afforded a careful opening period, but it wasn’t to be as both sides carved out early chances.
Cheered on by 651 away fans who had made the gruelling tenhour round trip, Plymouth began to turn the screw and took the lead in the 23rd minute.
After his initial corner kick was unconvincingly cleared, Graham Carey placed a beautiful second cross onto the head of Jervis whose header looped in over Ross Etheridge.
From there the two-sided affair resumed, with Kee sending Sean McConville into the Argyle sixyard box on the half hour only for Kelvin Mellor to usher the ball to safety.
Plymouth’s physicality began to show as the half wore on, with Reuben Reid outmuscling Mark Hughes and seeing his 18-yard shot blocked while Jervis stood unmarked to his right.
The hosts finished strongest but failed to make possession count – Adam Buxton unable to get the ball out of his feet in a penalty-box scramble four minutes from time.
And they squandered a golden stoppage time chance to equalise, as Kee brought down Piero Mingoia’s cross ahead of Mellor but fired straight at Luke McCormick.
The second half opened in the same vain, with Stanley forcing early chances. Substitute McCartan’s cross just eluded the head of Kee, falling to McConville who couldn’t react quickly enough to cause McCormick any problems.
McCartan’s introduction looked inspired, and his close-range header from Mingoia’s dipping delivery flashed just past Argyle’s near post.
Plymouth were still struggling to find their feet as the hour mark approached, with only Reid’s snapshot solo effort providing relief for the visiting defence.
And they looked to be holding firm against the Stanley barrage until Mellor flattened Kee in the box with five minutes to play – the full-back dismissed before Kee brushed himself off to convert the penalty.
Stanley continued to push into added time, and intelligent play from Mingoia afforded Matty Pearson the chance to whip in a cross which a diving McCartan steered