Coley pleased in patches after win
SKY BET LEAGUE ONE
ACCRINGTON Stanley were victorious on Boxing Day as they came out on top against Shrewsbury Town at the Wham Stadium.
First half goals from Jordan Clark and Billy Kee earned the home side the win, despite Shrewsbury pulling one back thanks to a second half penalty from Ollie Norburn.
The win saw the Reds pick up their first home win in League Two since October, and manager John Coleman was fairly happy with what he saw.
“I was pleased with it in patches, but we were a little bit sloppy in the 10 minutes either side of half time. We shouldn’t have been having to hang on and it shouldn’t have been a penalty for them - everyone knows it’s not a penalty,” he said.
“When you get one that’s as laughable as that you wonder what’s going on. I’m flabbergasted honestly. The referees have got a thankless task and it’s a difficult job to do, but don’t forget there’s four of them out there who could have an opinion.
“We’ve had to show a lot of steel and determination, I thought we defended ever so well in the last half an hour.
“They had a lot of ball going in and around the box but it didn’t really threaten us.
“We just got a little bit sloppy at times. It was a terrific start in the first half hour after we’d put a lot in and that’s testament to the character of the players that they’re willing to still put a lot in at the end.
“I can’t remember Connor Ripley making a save apart from the one that he clawed at towards the end. We’ve also made a couple of good blocks.
“We could have scored more towards the end as their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves and we’ve had ones where we’ve just missed the target a couple of times as well.
“We were on the front foot.
“They’ve kicked off and put the ball near our corner flag and we’ve returned it back to them with interest.
“We won the second ball, after talking about that during the week.
“It was a terrific touch by Jordan Clark and then we’ve gone on to create more chances.
“I was disappointed we didn’t make it three just before half time. Jordan had a great chance just after Billy Kee had scored.”