Team News:
Shaquile Coulthirst is recovering from a knock he picked up last Saturday again Yeovil Town, which saw him replaced at halftime.
John Akinde (hamstring), Curtis Weston (knee) and Jamie Stephens (knee) are all training out on the grass, as they continue to prepare for their returns.
Richard Brindley (foot), Elliott Johnson (knee) and Dave Tarpey (knee) are sidelined with long-term knocks.
Last Time We Met:
The last time the two sides met Accrington Stanley came away with a 1-0 win over Barnet at the Wham Stadium.
Shay McCartan scored the only goal of the game in the 54th minute, moving Stanley six points clear of relegation. Barnet dropped to 14th in their hunt for a play-off place.
Manager:
John Coleman’s first spell at Accrington Stanley saw him become the club’s most successful and long-serving manager as he returned the Reds to the Football League by winning the Conference title.
The prolific non-league goalscorer joined the club as player/manager after a successful spell at Ashton United in 1999, leading Stanley to the Unibond First Division title at the first time of asking.
The Premier Division title, numerous cups and ultimately promotion to the Football League followed in 2006. Each season in League Two he improved the club’s finish, culminating in a highest position since the 1950’s of fifth in 2011 followed by a play-off semi-final defeat to Stevenage.
He left the club to join Rochdale in 2012 but after a year at Spotland and spells with Southport and Sligo Rovers, he returned as Stanley manager in September 2014.
In his first full season back with the Reds, he led the side to the brink of promotion, claiming a fourth-placed finish in League Two before losing out to AFC Wimbledon in the playoffs.
Dangerman:
Billy Kee is currently the top goalscorer this season in the Sky Bet League Two standings, with nine goals from 15 league appearances, one clear of second place and two clear of Barnet top goalscorer Shaquile Coulthirst.
The 26-year-old currently has 37 league goals for Stanley in this spell at the club, coming in 95 league appearances. If you add his 37 appearances and nine goals from his loan spell back in 2009/10, it’s the club he’s both played the most games and scored the most goals for.
With his best tally across his career being 17 goals (in the 15/16 season with Stanley), Kee will certainly be looking to break that record.
Connections:
Ryan Watson joined Accrington Stanley on loan from Wigan Athletic in 2012. He made one appearance, his professional debut, against Morecambe in the EFL Trophy, before being recalled early. He joined Barnet in 2016 from Leicester City and has made 22 appearances across all competitions to date.
Last Time Out:
In their last fixture, Stanley won 2-0 away at Crewe Alexandra, climbing into the automatic promotion places.
Michael Raynes picked up an early booking, fouling Kayden Jackson in the area to give Accrington a penalty after just two minutes. Billy Kee stepped up and converted, his ninth of the season, making him the early top goalscorer in the league.
Things didn’t get much better for the Railwaymen, Jordan Clark scoring a diving header from a rebound after Dave Richards could only parry Jackson’s shot.
Crewe were trying to find an answer and an equaliser, but they just couldn’t find a way through. Late on, captain Raynes picked up his second yellow of the game and was sent off with seven minutes left to play.
Accrington went up to 3rd after the win, Crewe stayed 17th.
Accrington: Chapman, Hughes, Donacien, Richards-Everton, Nolan, Clark, Jackson (75’ Wilks), McConville (87’ Johnson), Thorniley, Conneely, Kee.
Unused: Stryjek, Brown, Leacock-McLeod, Rawson, Sousa.
Ticket info:
Supporters can find out more about tickets details here..
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