Nightmare start Robins lose to goal inside the first 30 seconds
SEAN Mcconville’s goal after just 30 seconds gave Accrington Stanley victory over Cheltenham Town for just their second win of the season.
The Robins kicked off but Stanley got the ball, Tommy Leigh flicked it on and Shaun Whalley crossed for Mcconville to tap home his fifth goal of the season.
The Reds, who came into the game on the back of three successive losses, had chances to increase their lead but Liam Coyle fired a shot inches wide and the unmarked Whalley was denied by the legs of goalkeeper Luke Southwood.
It was all Stanley in terms of first-half chances and, towards the end of the half, Mcconville’s strike found Harvey Rodgers and the ball came back off the woodwork.
“We dipped below the standards we’ve set over the past couple of weeks,” said head coach Wade Elliott.
“We did talk in the game that Accy are like a heavyweight boxer because they throw everything at you early and try to knock you out.
“If you stay in the game and withstand that...but with the early storm obviously you can’t start games the way we started.
“For the goal, we were not organised right off a throw-in, someone’s run off the back, we’ve lost the header, someone’s not covered.
“Ultimately they got in on our goal after 30 seconds, so if you dip below the standards you set, make sure you do the basics really well and that you are resilient and stay in the game.
“We obviously didn’t do that after 30 seconds and then it rocked the lads a little bit.
“If I am being brutally honest, until half-time we were hanging on a little bit.
“We get to half-time, correct one or two things, have the momentum of the game, but we can’t quite find the last pass, or the ball bounces the right way to get us back in the game.”
Mcconville had a header kept out by Southwood at the start of the second half but Cheltenham looked livelier after the break and Ryan Broom’s effort was deflected wide.
The Robins put their record goalscorer Alfie May on and Doug Tharme headed a May shot off the line in the final minutes.
“In the first half, we were a little bit stretched, back to front,” added Elliott.
“The distances from the front to the back of the team were a little bit too big.
“One or two patterns to get us up the pitch and into better areas.
“Once we got in the final third, we looked a threat. In the first half we didn’t get into those areas enough. Second half we did, but we didn’t quite find the final ball.
“If we’d have nicked a draw late on, I don’t think there would have been too many qualms because of the balance between the first half and the second half.
“But first half we certainly didn’t do enough. We put ourselves in a difficult position with our first half performance.
“We have to be at full tilt in every game, every minute of every game. Not every player is going to be at their best for 46 games a season, but if you are not at your best, make sure you do the basics well and that’s one thing we can control.
“Every time you step on the pitch, you do the basics well and give yourselves the best chance, which we didn’t do.”
On the decision to once again put May on the bench, Elliott said: “We are just being careful with him because he missed four weeks of pre-season.
“We pushed him every minute and we don’t want him breaking down and we lose him for four weeks or eight weeks. It is managing his load.
“He’s done 90 minutes and had plenty over the course of the season. It’s just managing his minutes, so that he’s at his optimum when he’s on the pitch. He was bright when he came on.” Accrington: Jensen, Clark, Astley, Tharme, Rodgers (Sloane 59), Conneely, Whalley, Pritchard (Sangare 84), Coyle, Mcconville, Leigh (Hamilton 75). Subs not used: Nolan, Martin, Savin, Fernandes.
Cheltenham: Southwood, Long, Taylor, Freestone, Jackson (Norton 67), Sercombe, Perry, Ferry (Williams 67), Broom, N’lundulu, Lloyd (May 57). Subs not used: Raglan, Chapman, Macdonald, Barkers.