For me that is the indicator that this year is going to be the one.

I know it is too early in the season to get excited. There is still a long way to go. However, for me Accrington has always been the test to show what we are made of.

It is still a depressing thought of how far the club has fallen that beating Accrington is a pivotal part of our season, the 'who are they?' chimes still ringing when Town were a Premiership side in the nineties, but it is where we are and given the last few seasons, beating Accrington is actually overcoming a stern test.

Coming off the back of a fantastic midweek cup win against Northampton, this was the game that would define if Town really are an improved side this year. I am not suggesting Accrington are anything like a promotion-contending team, but they are one that are physical, hard to beat and for two out of our three seasons in League One has sent us on a downward spiral.

They are also unbeaten this season, albeit with four out of five draws, so they were going to be tough to beat.

It took 76 minutes to break the deadlock and so I was fearful that it was going to fizzle out into a 0-0 draw. There was no doubt in my mind that we would prevent them from scoring so it was just about taking an opportunity.

Step up Conor Chaplin. Yet again the luxury of the bench afforded to Kieran McKenna paid dividends as one of his attacking reinforcements took the game by the scruff of the neck with one and a half goals.

The first was good intuition to read the trajectory of the corner and angle his body well to force in the volley. We really could see Chaplin being our top scorer this season.

The second I have said was a half goal. Chaplin took the shot, it hit multiple players on the way through and sent the keeper the wrong way. It was a scruffy goal but it didn't matter. It was awarded to Wes Burns (I have watched it several times and don't see a Burns touch) and realistically I think it is probably an own goal.

Like McKenna said, it really doesn't matter. Who cares? A goal is a goal no matter who scored it and how it goes in. It probably wasn't needed as I don't believe Accrington would have scored anyway but it's always great to get a late second to kill the game off.

Watching the banter between Chaplin and Burns after the game though shows a great strength within the squad. They could have a laugh about who scored and deep down they also know the win is a lot more important. Come the end of the season they would rather have a promotion on their CV than one more goal.

This squad look more together than any in previous seasons and that is credit to McKenna and his backroom team. Ability on the pitch is one thing but attitude, work ethic and team morale are all key ingredients to success. That is why this team have won their first four away games for the first time in their history and why they are sitting pretty at the top of League One with their largest haul at this stage of a season since dropping to the third tier.

The reason I feel this one is so important, is we have overcome a 'bogey' team. We usually lose this one and it sends us on a run of low confidence and impacts our season. This time we haven't let them do that to us.

We haven't yet played a 'top' team of the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, Portsmouth or Peterborough, but we are not throwing away points again lower league sides, which is something we have often done. It means we can afford to drop points in some of those games (although not all) as we are not wasting them elsewhere.

Although we dropped points against Bolton and Barnsley, they are two teams who still have a great chance of finishing in the top six so they are not bad results. Barnsley beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Hillsborough, which is something that most teams in this division will only dream of.

A quick note on Town's deadline day transfers. Both are very strong signings at this level. I am not sure either will be a regular starter and so £500,000-plus may raise a few eyebrows for squad players at this level, but if they contribute effectively when called upon then that is all the fans can ask for.

Gassan Ahadme may struggle to suit our style of play in most games, but is a great option to have on the bench to throw on in those games where we may end up having to go longer to chase a late goal or win at the end of a game.

Panutche Camara is one we will have to see how he fits in, giving the form of Marcus Harness, Chaplin and Tyreece John-Jules, as well as the performances of Sam Morsy and Lee Evans in the centre, but with the number of games we will hopefully have to play this year, he is a very strong alternative to bring into the starting XI when needed.

Cambridge next weekend pose a different threat. They have started the season strongly and are some pundits' tip to have an outside shot of the play-offs. It is another team we struggled against last season so will be great to correct that wrong.

We now have a bit of a buffer to seventh place as well, so whilst top two is the aim, increasing that safety net for the play-offs is important. Let's continue onwards and upwards.

Uppa Town

Europablue added 08:02 - Sep 5 Great read scants! Still haven't beaten anyone above us in the table though, so I'm not getting too carried away.
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Linkboy13 added 10:58 - Sep 5 It's a squad game now not sure there's such a thing as a regular starter now. The form of Lapado hasn't exactly set the world alight and Ahadme showed against us he has the energy and ability to play up front on his own so i cannot see how he can't fit in. Some fans can't accept that it's a squad system now. It's important to keep players fresh and more importantly keep players match fit.

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clivebleedingthomas added 14:23 - Sep 5 Europablue: it is a problem...aspiring to beat a team above you when you're top of the league!
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