COLEMAN NOT A HAPPY MAN
ACCRINGTON Stanley’s promotion charge is underway after last season’s near miss, but boss John Coleman admitted victory against Doncaster glossed over a poor performance.
Sean McConville volleyed in a stoppage-time winner after Tommy Rowe and Andy Williams – who also missed a penalty – had cancelled out Rommy Boco and Matty Pearson’s goals.
But Coleman confessed he would have been happy with a point before McConville popped up to ensure a winning start to the new season.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the win, but I’m not overly delighted with the performance,” he explained.
“If I’m honest, they were better than us. I thought they were the better team and they pinned us back for a long period in that second half and we were hanging on.
“Our approach play wasn’t good enough and our ball retention wasn’t the best. We didn’t really get tight enough to them like we discussed all week.
“But I thought it was a smashing game of football, we would have taken a point when the board went up. To get all three was a massive bonus for us.”
The game exploded into life after just one minute, when Stanley keeper Aaron Chapman fumbled a cross and fouled Matty Blair in the area as he scrambled for the loose ball.
Chapman made amends immediately, however, saving Williams’ penalty low to his right before blocking John Marquis’ rebound with his legs.
Boco then sprung the offside trap to race onto Scott Brown’s lobbed pass on eight minutes and finish low beyond Ross Etheridge to put the hosts in front.
The lead lasted just four minutes before Riccardo Calder fed Rowe in the area, who let the ball drop before firing leftfooted across Chapman.
Accrington were back in front, against the run of play, on 29 minutes though – Pearson’s speculative but fiercely struck 35-yard effort beating Etheridge, despite the keeper getting a good hand to it.
Williams finally levelled on 82 minutes, volleying Liam Mandeville’s cross goalwards – the shot bursting through Chapman’s hands and dropping just over the line.
But McConville won the game in the first of seven added minutes, meeting a deep cross with a perfect side-footed volley back across Etheridge and into the corner.
Doncaster boss Darren Ferguson said: “It’s a results business so it’s a bad start for us.
“We had a great start to the game, and obviously the goalkeeper’s redeemed himself with a penalty save.
“But I don’t think that affected us. I think what cost us was three lapses in concentration. They were three really soft goals we gave away.
“My message to the players was to make sure we didn’t concede. Concentration is key.”