Maxted heroics help Reds through
CHECKATRADE TROPHY 2ND ROUND
ACCRINGTON Stanley moved into the the third round of the EFL Trophy after a penalty shootout victory over Lincoln City.
Jonny Maxted was the hero for Accrington as he saved a penalty in normal time along with two penalties during the spot-kicks to help his team claim a 4-2 shootout win at the Wham Stadium, after the match was tied at 2-2 through 90 minutes.
It means Stanley keep their dreams alive of reaching the final at Wembley Stadium, and Reds boss John Coleman was happy to win against a tough Lincoln side.
“I’m delighted to get through. Both teams made a lot of changes but it was a cracking game,” he said. “There were a lot of chances and a lot of incidents. Both teams could have had a couple of penalties and maybe a couple sent off, but it was played in a great spirit.
“There was great appetite, and you’ll always get that from us. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re playing Lincoln in League One next season because they’ve assembled a good squad. They were a handful and we expected that. Possibly we wanted to go further in this competition than Lincoln did, and that’s no disrespect to them on how they approached the game as they did approach it in a good manner, but their cup exploits last year got in the way of them getting promoted.
“I know having done this job for so long that it can be a distraction and can affect league performance, and they’ve got one aim and that’s get promoted. I’m very confident they’ll do that.”
It was Lincoln who took the lead in the match, with Matt Green opening the scoring for the visitors inside the opening five minutes.
They weren’t ahead for long though, as just moments later Scott Brown equalised for Stanley after charging into the opposition area and firing low into the net.
There were further chances for both sides during a frantic start to the game, but after the end to end action, it began to quieten down as the half progressed and it remained 1-1 at the break.
Lincoln took the lead for the first time in the match just after the hour mark when Jamie McCombe netted, and the visitors were then given a golden opportunity to secure the win when they were awarded a penalty on 65 minutes.
It was Maxted who gave away the penalty, and he made amends by keeping out the effort to ensure his team remained in the match.
That save revitalised the hosts and they were able to equalise on 71 minutes. Jordan Clark got on the end of a pass from Connor Hall before firing into the net to make it 2-2.
That’s how it remained at full-time, meaning the match went to penalties. Connor Hall, Offrande Zanzala and Sean McConville all scored for Stanley, while Maxted saved Lincoln penalties from Kellan Gordon and Matt Green. Jordan Clark then scored the winning penalty to earn the Reds the victory.