NIALL MENACE
Ennis goal kickstarts Pilgrims’ progress
STEVEN SCHUMACHER praised Plymouth for a fourth League One win on the spin.
Goals from strikers Niall Ennis, Sam Cosgrove and Ryan Hardie secured the points with Plymouth defender Dan Scarr and Stanley skipper Seamus Conneely both sent off in the first half.
Schumacher, the division’s manager of the month, said: “It’s another three points on the board and I’m just glad to come out of it with another win because it was a tough game.
“It’s brilliant and so good to have them all [strikers] in form. They complement each other really well. If one striker starts the other two can come on and make an impact.
“It was two strikers starting and Ryan comes on and gets a counterattack goal from a brilliant ball by Adam Randell, another sub who came on and made a good impact.”
Schumacher added: “I thought Accrington played really well, especially for the 25 minutes probably until we scored.
“They started lively, had loads of energy and pressed us well and forced us into a few mistakes. So credit to them for that.
“But once we got the goal I thought we settled down a little bit. The sending off made the game a little bit scrappy for a spell.
“In the second half we were clinical with the two chances we got and just glad we got the three points.
“Accrington don’t fear anyone the way they play. They’ve had a good start and they’d won three in a row.
“We had to be ready for that
because it was never going to be an easy game and we were under no illusions about that.
“We managed to find a way to win without playing at our best. It’s another victory and another clean sheet.”
Stanley boss John Coleman was pleased with his side’s performances despite the result.
He said: “The 3-0 definitely hasn’t reflected the game. Even the most green-eyed Plymouth fan has got to recognise that.
“I thought for a big period of that game we were the better team and they know that. If we play like that, we will win more games than we lose.
“Plymouth are good on the counter and they score the only time they had been near our goal in the opening 25 minutes. They scored their second goal with their second shot on target, which was a body blow for us.”