Supersub Zanzala is a game changer
JOHN COLEMAN praised sub Offrande Zanzala as he helped to secure Accrington a place in the third round draw.
Coleman, in his 1,000th game in management with assistant Jimmy Bell, put on the Congolese striker at half-time and he changed the game, heading home the first after 49 minutes.
He was fouled in the area for the second with Billy Kee slotting home the penalty on his 28th birthday.
Alex Addai got one back for the League Two side but Jordan Clark secured the victory in the 79th minute.
“We were always going to put Ozzy on at halftime as, due to ineligible players, we didn’t have a lot of cover up front so we needed a threat on the bench,” said Coleman.
There wasn’t a lot goalmouth action in the first half and it needed Zanzala’s introduction after the break to make an impact.
Within four minutes of coming on, the forward headed home Sean McConville’s ball into the box from close range for his sixth goal of the season.
Zanzala was a threat and, in the 65th minute, he won a penalty after a challenge from Jordon Forster which Kee smashed into the net.
However, the League Two side came back after 73 minutes when Chris Clements found sub Addai and he beat his marker before firing home.
It looked like it could be a tense finale but Clark made the game safe. The winger played a one-two with Kee and took the ball around Scott Flinders to fire into the empty net.
“We had probably been too ponderous in the first half, we had a few chances, but we gave them a few as well,” Coleman said.
“It was a well-worked corner for Ozzy’s goal and then I was delighted for Billy Kee to get his first goal in nine games. I feared for him when he walked up to take the penalty but he buried it. Billy had an injury and it was touch-andgo whether he would start, but he battled for the cause.”
Robins manager Michael Duff was frustrated his side didn’t take their chances.
“We were relatively happy at half-time but we knew Zanzala was coming on and the threat he could offer,” he said. “If we had scored the first goal, I think it would have been a different story.”