The journey to Accrington is rarely a joyous one, purely because you know you're going to end up in Accrington. Nevertheless we endeavoured to make the trip, hoping for a better result than the one that greeted us on New Year’s Day at Northampton. A good result would also allow for my incessant moaning and storytelling of last year’s defeat to Stanley to come to an end as well - something which would please everyone.
After meeting Bill & Chaz at Chadwell Heath, we began the daunting journey to deepest darkest Lancashire. Following a quick change at Liverpool Street we arrived at Kings Cross with just enough time to board our Grand Central Train where we'd change at Halifax. The journey passed in a flash, a long, two and a half hour flash. After surveying the mammoth rolling hills and the wonderful Flour Factory at Halifax, our train arrived just in time for us to survive death by boredom.
Upon arrival in Accrington, we encountered something strange. It wasn't raining and there was a rare glimpse of the Sun – unbelievable! In previous trips to Lancashire the weather has been awful so this was a welcome turn up for the books. After navigating the treacherous streets of Accrington with no green man on the traffic lights to help us, we arrived at The Crown Ground just before 14:30.
After encountering many pot holes, we paid our money and entered into the ground itself. I like Accrington as they're a club similar to our own in stature, so the greeting and thanks for our support printed on an A4 piece of paper behind the stand was a nice touch from the club. After having a reasonably priced £2.50 hot dog, we headed up to the stand itself to reacquaint ourselves with the ground just over a year since our last visit.
The Crown Ground is quite a low stadium in stature and with three sides containing small sections of seating it has an odd feel. The metal structures on top of the main stand are also odd but add to give the ground a bit of character. As always we were located in the open terrace, furthermore we weren't even given the option of standing under cover this year! Something that brought marks off however, was that there wasn't a Saturday game available to watch on the field behind the stand.
As the ground began to fill up in the slowest way possible, the teams were announced as follows...
Accrington Stanley: Belford, Wilson, Winnard, Murphy, Molyneux, Lindfield, Miller, Joyce, Boco, Beattie, Amond. Subs: Dawber, Clark, Dixon, Gray, Liddle, Hatfield, Mingoia.
Stanley gaffer Leam Richardson was forced into a single change from the side that defeated Chesterfield 1-0 on New Year’s Day. Laurence Wilson, previously of Everton was brought into the side for Nicky Hunt who picked up an injury in training. The front three of Boco, Beattie & Amond were sure to cause threats as Stanley looked about increasing their winning run following a torrid winless run at the back end of 2012.
Dagenham & Redbridge: Lewington, Hoyte, Doe, Wilkinson, Femi, Howell, Saunders, Ogogo, Elito, Woodall, Williams. Subs: Seabright, Scott, Gracco, Spillane, Caprice, Maher, Bingham.
Despite having a fully fit squad to choose from, John Still made two changes to his side as Daggers looked to arrest a three game losing streak. Mickey Spillane was dropped to the bench which allowed Abu Ogogo to push up into centre midfield and Gavin Hoyte to come in at right back. Elsewhere Brian Woodall replaced Jake Reed to partner Sam Williams up top in an expected change. Gianluca Gracco was also giving a place on the bench for the first time.
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| Daggers Fans (@big_g1978) |
Despite there being a seemingly
low number of spectators inside the stadium, the teams were paraded onto the
pitch. At this point I counted 27 Daggers on the terrace although a few more
were coming in all the time. Rather annoyingly the teams decided to swap ends
which meant the Daggers would be attacking us in the first half, whilst Stanley
would be facing their own fans.
From the word go you wouldn't
begrudge Leam Richardson for berating his Stanley side. Pockets of space were
constantly appearing on the left which allowed Medy Elito to take full
advantage and really cause problems for debutant full back Laurie Wilson.
Despite the positive start it was the hosts who registered the first attempt.
Some clever play between Boco & Padraig Amond down the left allowed the
latter to advance into the box before skewing his fierce strike over Chris
Lewington's bar.
As the game reached the 15 minute
mark the visitors took advantage of poor Stanley play. Medy Elito caused real
problems after breaking past one and then past two defenders before putting a
cross into the box that evaded everyone. Seconds later Medy put another ball
into the box, this time it was deflected behind for a corner. From the
resultant Matt Saunders corner, Cameron Belford was tested for the first time
by a tame Brian Woodall header.
After a largely uninspiring start
to the season Elito was now coming into his own. The confidence of the winger
was clear, so much so that when Daggers won a free kick on the edge of the box
he forwarded himself to take it. Despite a confident run up, he fired it just over
the bar to test Stanley's steel.
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| Magic Medy Elito |
Following constant pressure on
the left hand side from Medy Elito, Daggers finally got their reward. Elito
beat makeshift full back Craig Lindfield before firing a deadly ball into the
box that was glanced home by Matt Saunders after the winger had edged in front
of his man. The 37 Daggers in attendance celebrated amongst themselves whilst
Matt Saunders and Medy Elito wheeled off in delight.
Still's men responded well to the
minimal pressure exerted by Stanley as they attempted to get back into the
game. Gavin Hoyte was justifying his selection whilst the centre half pairing
of Scott Doe & Luke Wilkinson was looking as solid as ever. Just after the
half hour mark Daggers nearly added another as Sam Williams speculative effort
flew wide of the post and ended up with me in the terrace.
Romauld Boco who was looking like
Stanley's only goal threat then saw his strike deflected into Lewington's path
allowing for an easy save. Laurie Wilson was continuing to have a torrid half
at right back with Elito & Femi giving the debutant very little respite
from constant pressure. Good combination play from Howell, Williams and Elito
saw the ball end up with Matt Saunders whose goalbound shot was blocked by a
Stanley defender.
The front pairing of Sam Williams
and Brian Woodall was also causing problems. Despite getting few shots away
Woodall was looking more adept at partnering Williams than Jake Reed who had
been dropped from the 18 altogether. Williams himself almost doubled the lead
before half time when his 20 yard drive towards the bottom corner was palmed
away by Cameron Belford.
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| Happy Daggers! (@baldy984) |
Padraid Amond was then forced off
through injury which allowed Michael Liddle to replace the frontman. As the
first half ended with Daggers in full control, Laurie Wilson nearly equalised
for Stanley but his effort was stopped well by Lewington at the near post. The
half time whistle blew and the 37 Daggers in attendance couldn't believe how
well we were playing. Whilst the obvious ball over the top was still making an
appearance, there was far more passing on the floor and our threat down the
left hand side was becoming increasingly apparent.
In recent weeks half time has
been a period of wondering if we can get back into the game, this week it was a
period of wondering if we can build on our lead. Not many times have I been
able to go away from home and say that this season! As the clouds conversed and
darkness fell, the teams re-emerged for the second half. At this point we also
learned that Chris Lewington's karaoke tune is "Teenage Dirtbag" by
Wheatus. Fascinating stuff I’m sure you’ll agree.
The Daggers continued the second
half in the ascendancy as they looked to build on their goal lead. A break
forward allowed Abu Ogogo to get a shot away that was ultimately blocked,
whilst Femi fired the rebound high over the bar. One day Femi will score and
that day will be tremendous. Craig Lindfield then attempted to feed a ball into
the box, but his attempts were thwarted by the safe hands of Chris Lewington.
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| The famous "Woodall at Accrington" snap makes a welcome return. |
With 7 minutes played in the
second half, the visitors effectively killed the game off. Matt Saunders
advanced before playing in Brian Woodall on the right hand side who crossed for
Luke Howell to prod home a delicate left footed finish that went in off the far
post. We celebrated once more as unbelievably we found ourselves deservedly two
goals to the good away from home.
The game then became somewhat
subdued as both sides almost accepted the fate of the match. Stanley were now
looking far more dangerous down the right hand side, unfortunately for them
though Femi was in superb form and quelled the danger immediately. After a
double change by Richardson, Accrington came close to pulling one back. Lee
Molyneux was allowed time and space before curling a shot goalwards that
Lewington was equal to once again.
A poor training ground routine
was then messed up by Stanley as a free kick in a dangerous looking position
was cleared away by Luke Howell. Daggers were still having an odd break down
the wings but it was all Stanley going forward at this point. Luke Howell was
then put into the referee's book for making one cynical foul to many - although
some would say he should have been booked earlier!
With 84 minutes played Stanley
came incredibly close to nabbing one back. Craig Lindfield's dangerous strike
was parried once more by Lewington but as Hoyte attempted to clear he could
only manage to pass the ball back into the side netting. It was a moment that
had everyone on edge as it looked extremely close to going in the back of the
net. From the resulting corner the ball was cleared once more as the Daggers
defence remained resilient.
Daggers continued to push forward
in search of a third goal but it came at a cost with Sam Williams booked for an
apparent dive late on. Forward Williams was seemingly brought down in the box
but ultimately the referee decided against it and gave Williams a yellow card.
There did appear to be a challenge so a look at a replay would be beneficial in
making a stonewall judgement.
There was one final chance for
Stanley in the closing moments when Molyneux's treacherous cross was volleyed
goalwards by Beattie, but the referee decided Chris Lewington was fouled when
attempting to gather the ball and a free kick was given. Just enough time
remained for Medy Elito to complete his best performance of the season by
breaking into the box and firing his low shot into the side netting.
My second half description may
sound as though Daggers were hanging on for dear life at some points – but it
wasn’t like that at all. Whilst Accrington exerted a degree of pressure it
remained comfortable for the visitors. The backline snuffed out the majority of
attacks and the commanding presence of Scott Doe really shone through.
The referee then blew his whistle
to signal the end of the game. I’ll give credit to Stanley supporters as well
because they didn't boo at the final whistle like some sets of supporters would
have done. I very much like Stanley and wish them well for the rest of the
season in their battle against the drop.
So, our first victory or 2013 and
it came away from home! Not only that, it was my first away victory following
the team this season - so I'm no longer a jinx! The players came over and
applauded the 37 on the terrace who made the trip before huddling for a team
talk.
I have to say it was a delightful
performance. From start to finish we were in complete control and never really
looked like conceding. The main threat came down the left hand side where Femi
and Medy in particular were dangerous all afternoon. This was by far Medy's
best performance of the season; furthermore his remit as "winger"
finally came to be as he tested the full back numerous times whilst also
getting in his fair share of crosses.
Scott Doe & Luke Wilkinson
were solid all afternoon, not giving the Stanley forwards an inch of space to
work with. They were both dominant in the air and commanding on the ground,
making important challenges when they were needed. Gavin Hoyte also asserted
himself well and continued the good form of Ogogo in the right back position.
Femi also put in a good shift, managing to balance both his attacking and
defensive side of the game admirably.
In the midfield we can have no
complaints really. The vastly underrated Matt Saunders was sensational once
more. As I constantly say he was the creative spark on the right side and
troubled the Stanley defenders with some terrific through balls and marvellous
crosses. Luke Howell played his part and made some important challenges whilst
Abu continued his consistency into the midfield, playing the ball and getting
around the park.
Sam Williams & Brian Woodall
- this partnership needs to remain. They complimented eachother superbly well
and created numerous opportunities thanks to their camaraderie. Jake Reed
has bundles of energy, but Brian Woodall has that little bit more that gets the
supporters excited and the players motivated. Medy was just superb, he caused
many problems down the left hand side as well as enjoying a great bond with
Femi.
Something that shouldn't be
ignored however is the performance of Chris Lewington. He's come under some
criticism in recent weeks but he barely put a foot wrong yesterday afternoon.
He commanded the game from the goalmouth and really asserted his authority on
the game. Anyone who says he doesn't talk either needs their hearing checked or
really needs to listen harder! Well done Lewy, I salute you!
What's more is that we played
well as a unit. Everyone seemed to know what was going on, when it was going on
and how it was going on. The slick triangles of passing made a reappearance with
neat one two's predominantly down the left. It allowed the forwards and Elito
especially to get down the wing and advance into the box causing substantial
problems for the Stanley back line. If we can play the ball like that against
Accrington, I’d like to think we can do it against other sides in this league
as well.
To put it simply - it was a
combination of one of Daggers' best performances of the season and one of
Stanley's worst. The complete away performance I guess you could say. As for
Stanley, I fear for them. They're currently experiencing "The Macclesfield
effect", whereby a team goes from mid table into freefall. Unless they can
get their defence up to scratch and look more threatening going forward they
could be in trouble.
Saying that however, I think they
have the players that can get them out of it. Whilst James Beattie wasn't
effective yesterday afternoon, he's the kind of character that has the spark to
ignite the team. Boco can also inspire the supporters I feel, moreover they
need some steel in the middle of the park because that's where Daggers
dominated. If you dominate in the midfield, that's 2/3 of the game won for me.
I also salute me fellow 36
Daggers on the terrace and the apparent 8 who were in the seats. You did the
team proud yesterday and hopefully some of you will be able to make it to
Morecambe on Tuesday night!
We return to Lancashire on
Tuesday night in the rearranged fixture at The Globe Arena against Morecambe.
This game also has FREE ENTRY for all supporters, so if you can, make sure you
get yourself to that one! My next report will be against Rochdale next
Saturday, meanwhile the jury's still out if I can make Wycombe away the
following week.
As always, many thanks for
reading and remember to follow me on Twitter - @NickdrfcMurphy.
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