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Accrington Stanley 1-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report
Tuesday, 2nd Mar 2021 21:10

James Wilson and James Norwood saw Town to a 2-1 victory over 10-man Accrington at the Wham Stadium, the Blues’ striker having missed a earlier penalty. Dion Charles put Stanley ahead in the fourth minute, before Seamus Conneely was dismissed on 16 for bringing down Parrott in the incident which led to the spot-kick. Wilson slammed in his first Town goal on 41 and Norwood added his sixth of the season in first-half injury time to see the Blues to their third win in a row and up to seventh.

Town fielded the same line-up for the fourth successive game as caretaker-manager Matt Gill, assisted by Bryan Klug, took charge with new boss Paul Cook watching from the stands.

Tomas Holy was again in goal with the back four, from the right, skipper Luke Chambers, Toto Nsiala, James Wilson and Myles Kenlock.

Andre Dozzell and Teddy Bishop were in the centre of the midfield with Alan Judge on the left and Keanan Bennetts on the right, while Troy Parrott was behind lone out-and-out striker James Norwood.

Flynn Downes was again on a bench which was unchanged from Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Doncaster.

New boss Cook, who joined on a contract until 2023 earlier today, briefly spoke to the team prior to the match, before taking a place in the stands, alongside new assistant Gary Roberts, who until earlier today was an Accrington player, and leaving Gill and Klug to run the team before he takes charge properly tomorrow.

For Stanley, Paul Smyth returned to the starting XI for Adam Phillips, who drops to the bench.

Prior to kick-off both teams took a knee in support of Black Lives Matter, again with the exception of Toto Nsiala.

In the second minute Kenlock sent in a cross from the left but Norwood scuffed his effort wide.

Three minutes later, from their first attack of the game, the home side took the lead. Smyth crossed low from the right, Holy spilled it and Stanley top scorer Dion Charles stabbed home his 15th of the season.

The Blues showed very little in the opening quarter of an hour but in the 18th minute they were handed a great opportunity to level when they were awarded a penalty and Accrington were reduced to 10 men.

Norwood flicked a long ball on to Parrott, who looked certain to score his first senior goal until he was clumsily upended by Seamus Conneely. Referee Bobby Madley immediately showed a straight red card, presumably as he deemed the Stanley skipper not to have made clear attempt at playing the ball, which seemed harsh.

After some fruitless complaining, Norwood took the penalty but hit his shot too close to Nathan Baxter’s right. The keeper, who also saved a spot-kick in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Fleetwood, initially stopped it and then pounced on it as it threatened to dribble over the line behind him.

Baxter thwarted Norwood again in the 27th minute when he worked himself space from 12 yards out and hit a shot which the keeper palmed wide to his left.


A minute later, the game was brought to a halt as Baxter required treatment for what appeared to be a dislocated finger after colliding with Parrott as the keeper pawed clear a low ball into the area.

The on-loan Chelsea man continued for a few minutes but after further treatment was eventually forced off and Toby Savin replaced him.

Savin was called into action for the first time in the 39th minute when Judge unleashed a 25-yard strike which he was forced to bat away to his left, although without being overly troubled.

But two minutes later the 19-year-old was beaten. Dozzell sent over a corner from the right, the keeper fumbled as he tangled with one of his defenders and Wilson smashed his first Town goal into the net from a matter of inches.

The Blues, who hadn’t overly impressed despite the additional man, finally started to put the home side under pressure. On 44 Savin went some way to atoning for his error with an impressive save from Norwood after a Judge cross from the left had fallen loose.

Bishop shot over soon afterwards as incoming manager Cook began to issue instructions to Kenlock, Judge and Bishop on his side of the pitch.

In the final scheduled minute, Kenlock skipped his way into the area on the left and sent a low ball across the six-yard box which Norwood was just unable to reach at the far post.

But in the sixth of six additional minutes, Norwood finally found the net. Dozzell whipped in a free-kick from the right, after Bennetts had been pulled back by Cameron Burgess, and the striker flicked a powerful header into the net. It appeared the most difficult of the chances the striker had had.

Referee Madley brought the half to an end soon afterwards with the home side perhaps right to feel a little miffed at the way the period had progressed.

Having started well and gained their lead, albeit courtesy of a Holy error, the red card seemed a double punishment for Conneely and, after Norwood had missed his spot-kick, the half had got even worse for Stanley.

Sub keeper Savin had looked shaky even prior to conceding Wilson’s goal and having levelled the Blues began to take charge and create chances with Norwood, now Town’s top scorer on six, grabbing the lead just before the break.

Given the man advantage, Town ought to have been looking at adding to their goals in the second half.

Accrington made a change at the break with David Morgan taking over from Ben Barclay. Three minutes after the restart Charles was booked for a foul on Bishop on halfway.

With new boss Cook by now continually issuing instructions, Norwood charged down a Savin clearance after the keeper had rushed out of his goal to the Town right. The ball deflected into the area but was cleared.

Stanley went close to an equaliser in the 54th minute when Michael Nottingham rose highest to head a free-kick from the right goalwards but Holy got down to his left to save.

As Joe Pritchard underwent treatment on the floor in the 58th minute, Cook made his annoyance at Mark Hughes for an earlier comical dive as a corner came over very clear. Pritchard was unable to continue and was replaced by Sean McConville.

In the 61st minute Matt Butcher shot towards goal but his strike, which looked on target, was blocked by Wilson.

Six minutes later, McConville was booked for a blatant dive when under pressure from Chambers on the left of the box.

Town, who were on top but without having looked like adding to their lead, switched Bishop and Bennetts for Downes and Gwion Edwards in the 71st minute.

On 80 Wilson was harshly yellow-carded for what looked a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge on Smyth on the touchline. Two minutes later, Josh Harrop replaced Dozzell, then on 87 without any further incident Aaron Drinan and Freddie Sears replaced Parrott and Norwood.

Nottingham shot well over for Accrington in the final scheduled minute before Tariq Uwakwe took over from Smyth for the home side.

Seconds before the whistle Drinan was sent away on the right and might have cut across to any one of three players unmarked in the middle but instead took it past the keeper and too wide to take an effort at goal and his low cross was cut out.

A third successive League One win for the Blues for the first time since a run of four on the trot in September and October 2019, and a third win in a week against a side above them in the table.

However, having got their noses in front just before the break, Town will have hoped to have added to their lead in the second half against the 10 men but the period’s only real chance fell to the home side, Holy saving well from Nottingham.

The Blues saw most of the ball but without creating an opportunity, while centre-halves Wilson and Nsiala.

The victory sees the Blues climb to seventh ahead of Stanley, still two points off the play-offs with a game in hand on sixth-placed Doncaster.

New manager Cook was a lively presence in the stand, offering loud encouraging instructions to his new players having initially kept his counsel for the first 20 minutes or so.

Cook seemed impressed with aspects of his new charges’ display and notably called on the wingers to push put wide further.

The former Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan boss will take of his first Town game when the Blues travel to Gillingham on Saturday.

Accrington: Baxter (Savin 37), Nottingham, Hughes, Burgess, Butcher, Smyth, Pritchard (McConville 59), Barclay (Morgan 46), Bishop, Conneely (c), Charles. Unused: Russell, Uwakwe, Rodgers, Phillips, Morgan.

Town: Holy, Chambers (c), Nsiala, Wilson, Kenlock, Dozzell (Harrop 82), Bishop (Downes 71), Bennetts (Edwards 71), Judge, Parrott (Sears 87), Norwood (Drinan 87). Unused: Cornell, Ward, Harrop, Sears, Drinan. Referee: Bobby Madley (West Yorkshire).


Photo: Pagepix



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cat added 21:11 - Mar 2
Impressive turnaround from a sluggish start. Liking the way Judge, Bish and Dozza are linking up. Lovely to watch a game and giving one about the result for a change.
15

DifferentGravy added 21:12 - Mar 2
GET IN!

Well done the entire squad. Brilliant effort and really sticking together. Nsiala and Parrott were men of the match for me, superb.

COYB
14

BromleyBloo added 21:12 - Mar 2
Scrappy game at first, as you would imagine against Accs and before anything had settled they scored and went ahead from a “scrappy“ goal.

Penalty did change things, but not immediately as Nor missed and we struggled to take advantage. Gradually we got our passing going, using Dozzell more and more at the centre and Teddy increasingly taking the space to make his trademark runs. To help further their goalkeeper then got injured in a clash with Parrott and had to go off. Dominant possession told - Acc had no attacking presence and we deservedly scored from a number of chances to go in 2-1 up at half-time.

Second half didn't really start the same and we struggled to establish our superiority and with Holy making a very good save from a set piece, Accs actually came back strongly.
So back to scrappy and more than a bit uncomfortable at times.

Didn't agree with Bishop and his guile/direct running going off, but to be fair he had done little after half-time as the whole team failed to reassert themselves. We created only the odd chance when the game seemed to be there for the taking and after a while seemed to accept that and stopped pushing for a third goal. So we then saw the game out pretty well, but considering we were playing 10 men who should've tired, it really wasn't an impressive second half - worst display of the recent matches.

Holy had a good solid game, as did Nsiala and Wilson handling the expected high balls and Judge often provided what little calm and control there was.

So another good win, albeit dirty and we made really hard work of it, but onward and upward..................

COYB!!!
4

aas1010 added 21:13 - Mar 2
Fantastic win . Especially in front off the new gaffer , onward and upwards . Well done all . COYB!
7

Dear_oh_Dear added 21:13 - Mar 2
Good game. Good win. Cook will have learned a lot tonight
3

Sindre94 added 21:13 - Mar 2
Good win on a scrappy day. Thought there were a lot of decent performances from individuals although the team was below par except for 15 minutes of the first half. Toto, Kenlock, Wilson, Chambo, Bishop and Parrott all had decent games for me. Nors as well but he should have had a hattrick.
1

warksonwater added 21:15 - Mar 2
Three wins in a row, all against sides above us. Play-offs well within reach. Who'd have predicted this? Wow!
8

runningout added 21:15 - Mar 2
Great result. Can't get too thrilled, want to. Chuffed Paul Cook is here. Just not going over the top with silly expectations
1

gixxeral added 21:15 - Mar 2
Dozzell is absolute quality. He is a pleasure to watch and Bishop is not far behind.
9

Blue_badge added 21:16 - Mar 2
"with a game in hand on sixth-placed Doncaster." - the table I see (BBC) shows that they have a game in hand on us - but who cares, cos we're gonna win a lot more than we'd have believed two weeks ago!
2

DebsyAngel added 21:17 - Mar 2
Didn't hear or see the match as involved in a radio show on the internet, but been keeping an eye on here and so pleased that we won and that Wilson scored! Well done lads and let's keep the winning ways going !
1

chopra777 added 21:17 - Mar 2
A win is a win.But it was a car crash of a game. What were Town doing in the first ten minutes. Too much hoof and the home side found a weak spot. They did not give respect to Accrington,that was evident with Norwood,s weak penalty. But credit to us finally getting a passing game. But we should have had more goals as their sub goalie was suspect. Cookie time to cook up a mass of points against the minnows of this league.
6

timkatieadamitfc added 21:18 - Mar 2
Great first half thought we played really well as it's not always as easy as it sounds playing 10 men, (thought we did well against Sunderland), played some good stuff and should have been 4 or 5 up at half time with clear cut chances which is encouraging( Norwood should have had hat trick)
2nd half we took our foot off the gas when they were there for the taking really, still 3 on the bounce now which I don't think any of us would have thunk that
Roll on Saturday COYB
WELL DONE EVERYONE
0

jas0999 added 21:19 - Mar 2
Another good win. Exciting times ahead!
3

LythamBlue added 21:20 - Mar 2
I thought Toto was fantastic tonight, never out a foot wrong, won everything in the air and played some decent balls out from the back
3

VanDusen added 21:24 - Mar 2
I don't think I would have picked a more unlikely set of games this season for three wins on the trot. Superb stuff!
4

TimmyH added 21:24 - Mar 2
Strange game tonight...all turned on the sending off and further exacerbated by their keeper who had done well was carted off a bit later to be replaced by a poor one. Once down to 10 men we had a number of chances with Wilson scoring from a corner thanks to their flapping goalkeeper. Norwood other than his penalty miss contributed to miss other sitters until he scored a good header again from a dead ball situation right on half time.
You would have thought we'd come out with more of the same but the second half was generally poor by us and scrappy with Accrington having the only clear attempt from a header well saved by Holy - not 1 attempt by us 2nd half to test their 'flapper' which was disappointing.

I'd like to say good 3 points which makes 3 wins running but felt that lady luck shown down us a bit tonight as it might have been a different story 11 v 11.
6

stormypetrel added 21:25 - Mar 2
Do you know what , I just enjoyed it.....first time in a while...loved the passion and fight... toto getting his noggin in on lots of balls, wilson composed, judge terrier like and Norwood just a nuisance... Gwion off the pace a bit...but enjoyed the game
2

SpiritOfJohn added 21:27 - Mar 2
Suddenly all to play for. Well done Town - now keep it going!
4

LWNR2013 added 21:29 - Mar 2
Ace
0

aas1010 added 21:30 - Mar 2
TimmyH I agree . If it was 11/11 it may been a different story but hey 3 points all good tho 👍
4

Facefacts added 21:35 - Mar 2
I missed the first 20 mins, so had no idea Holy had made an error, and from what I saw he had a great game, little to do, but what he did, he did well, especially that save from the free kick. He didn't let the error affect his performance afterwards.

Keanan Bennetts, if he was any good I don't think he'd be playing for us, going down the wing and crossing the ball on a sixpence for the striker to tap in. No, I don't think he's going to make it as a Town player, he is an attacking player who yes has a trick but gets a nosebleed when he reaches the byline or the opponent's penalty area. Would be better off playing Luke Matheson there,he is going to be some player, maybe Paul Cook will see that, as Chambers will surely keep his place on the right.

In fact the whole defence looks good and the only fear I had was that the referee would fall for one of their cheating tricks or they would put in a really good delivery from a free kick. But at least we got the win, to keep the good run going. Stepped off the gas too much in the second half, let them back into it, and that will be a concern, as there are a lot of teams like Accrington in this league and they won't all go down to 10 men.

Also, we have to play quicker, make decisions quicker, get into position quicker, then we would start to blow away these non-league teams like Accrington.

So I did miss most of the significant events, but we looked like Brazil in the first half and should have been more than one goal ahead at the break. Accrington did just play the percentages, play it into the channels and look for free kicks, and I really couldn't tell we had 11 v 10 in the second half.
1

Saxonblue74 added 21:35 - Mar 2
Decent run of results at last. Entertaining but would have preferred to see us push on and win by 3 or 4, which I think we could have achieved. Interesting time to be a Town fan.
2

TimmyH added 21:38 - Mar 2
Something has defo changed over the last couple of weeks...you wouldn't have bet your mortgage on us winning 3 straight against fellow promotion contenders (though don't believe Stanley will be in the shake up come May)...so whether the players knew that Cook was coming in and a different vibe ensued in the dressing room or something else...Takeover perhaps? Long may it continue! but a bit of luck tonight I fancy.
2

Linkboy13 added 21:39 - Mar 2
Not a convincing display but all that matters to most fans is that we win. Although we were playing against ten men you wouldn't have noticed because certain players in our team just do not pull their weight. Paul Cook would have noticed this and i wouldn't be surprised if he makes two or three changes . Parrott, Nsiala excellent tonight, Norwood looks our best striker but as ive said before he needs three chances to score one.
5


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