FAN’S VIEW 21/22 – NO.35

ACCRINGTON AWAY

Our opponents

Every time we play Accrington I and many others come up with much admired small club, going about things the right way and punching above their weight. They must be getting a bit tired of that by now but it is not meant in a patronising way.

Their average home gate is 3,166 but I was surprised to find that it is not the lowest in L1. Burton and Fleetwood have marginally had fewer through their turnstiles.

On the subject of support and the back patting we’ve (possibly) rightly given ourselves for two 10k plus home attendances it should be noted that our average currently stands at 7,840 which is only the twelfth best in the division. Just think where we’d stand if we were to make it into the Championship.

Following a run of three defeats in November Accy then won four of their next five including a 1-0 home victory over table toppers Rotherham. That was on Boxing Day. Since then they’ve drawn four and lost two. On Saturday they were again playing Rotherham and came close, only going down 1-0 in a game that included an incident that had echoes of a certain Oxford fan’s exploits from the penalty spot against Reading all those years ago. I think it was in the League Cup and we got hammered so the incident had no bearing on the outcome. It has gone down in OUFC fan folklore. There was no attempt to assault any player. It was all very funny.

It was very different at the New York Stadium. In the 89^th minute Accrington were awarded a penalty. With Harry Pell about to take the spot kick two spectators ran on, one kicking the ball away and making contact with Pell. When the kick was taken he missed. We’ll never know if that would have been the outcome if the incursion had not happened but I’d wager there would have been a greater chance of Pell converting and the Millers now having two points fewer than they’ve actually got. It’s not RUFC’s fault one little bit and they’ve done the right thing by banning the two invaders for life. They’ve been arrested too so hopefully appropriate charges will follow. Week after week we’re seeing unsavoury incidents and they have to be stamped out now.

The home side are clearly no push-overs.

Grants, not your typical northern working class boozer but always worth a visit when in Accrington 

ACCRINGTON STANLEY 2 OXFORD UNITED 0

Ah, but can they do it in (insert name of club way up north) on a wet, or windy or cold Tuesday night?

The answer here was an emphatic NO.

Without being anywhere near our best I thought we were the better side up until the home side took the lead in the 28^th minute but from then on they were the ones who ensured the game was played the way it suited them. They didn’t allow us to play our passing flowing football in areas that could cause much damage and achieved this by fair means not foul with no need to resort to any timewasting and shithousery. It was all determined commitment and once they went that goal up had us where they wanted us and kept us there.

Looking at the size of some of the home players I feared for us every time they delivered a high ball into our penalty area. The only player we had close to being as tall as at least four of them was Elliott Moore and I’d guess he’s a bit shorter than their tallest. Oh how we could have done with Luke McNally in this. And Sam Long too.

We don’t keep clean sheets. We don’t look like keeping clean sheets. It’s all well and good and incorrectly glossed over if we get three and win despite letting in two but that’s not going to happen every time. Not at places like the Wham Stadium.

Top of the table Rotherham have kept 16 clean sheets in the League this season so far. We’ve managed just six and none in 2022. If that trend continues there is a good chance that will cost us dearly.

We’re weak at full-back. There’s no real solid defensively strong alternative to Long at RB and no proper competition whatsoever for Steve Seddon on the other side. He’s now quite likely running on empty but has never come across to me as the most robust of battlers who “likes a tackle”.  Not saying he’ll pull out by any means but I think you’ll get where I’m coming from. A player’s build is what it is.

SS was involved in the giving of the opening goal to the hosts. Michael Nottingham slipped unnoticed through our defence and when he received the ball from Sean McConville we were left with a handful of players not in a position to do any meaningful defending. Anthony Forde did get back but he was beaten so easily by Nottingham before the cross was delivered. Seddon’s header put the ball right into the danger zone where John O’Sullivan collected and shot home. Surely one of our taller men should have been stationed where Seddon was but even so if he’d headed away to his right I don’t think any damage would have been done.

It could have been even worse at half time but we rode our luck when O’Sullivan fired wide of an open goal. We’d cocked up for that losing the ball trying to play out from the back. New boy Ciaron Brown’s pass was lost by Seddon who easily succumbed to Mitchell Clark’s closing down. With possession lost and opponents free it didn’t look good or bode well.

Even before they’d scored and we were looking a little bit more likely to do so than them we didn’t have anyone who was standing out. Nathan Holland, who was quite anonymous, only lasted ten minutes into the second half. Matty Taylor was hardly involved. Herbie Kane’s radar was off as he had one of his poorer games.

Ryan Williams was probably our liveliest performer doing some running at their defence with the ball but what he has to offer is put into perspective when compared to that of the on fire Mark Sykes, the 55^th minute replacement for Holland. I could not understand why he wasn’t a starter but apparently the medical team advised that he could not manage 90 mins. Once he came on I thought we had a spark hitherto missing but it wasn’t enough to ignite the rest of the team to achieve a draw let alone a win.

We got to see over 20 minutes of Sam Baldock and he did look quite quick and sharp but with him, Matty T and Sam Winnall all on the pitch at the same time I don’t think the balance was right. SW was no better or worse on the night than most of our lads. A couple of yards away from the player in the Eric Whalley Stand one of our so called supporters thought it helpful to loudly inform “Winnall you’re fucking shit”.  A Cantona karate kick would have been more than justified.

We may well have a match for their missed sitter when at the same end Taylor headed wide when it looked easier to score.

But that was the closest we came and it was not a shock when in added time Accrington doubled their lead. Clark jinked round Williams without too much effort needed and suddenly we were left 1v2 on our left. Our one was Cameron Brannagan. Left back Seddon ambling back from a right-side semi-attacking midfield berth. We were desperate by then, but how desperate?

Ross Sykes was left alone in a quarter of the pitch so it was incredibly easy for him to find the scorer Ethan Hamilton. Again I’m going to be critical of Seddon. He’d got back, yes but didn’t get close to Hamilton until it was too late. A sharp switched on defender would have done so.  And our keeper should have stopped it. Perhaps we need to wake up to the fact that this is another area that needs improving upon. It’s no coincidence this lack of clean sheets.

I’d not picked up anything from this game to allow me to take even a modicum of optimism back down the M6 but research by my mate, Mr Mark Harrison probably throws some perspective on the Accrington on a Tuesday night experience.

Lifted directly from a WhatsApp Group:

Rotherham, Bolton, Ipswich lost at Accy this season

Sunderland. MK and Pompey drew

Wigan, Sheff Wed and Plymouth won

With exception of Wigan the wins were on Saturdays. All wins were in fine playing conditions (He checked).

He also said that although he hadn’t checked Wigan, Sheff W and even Plymouth will have had massive away followings making a huge difference.

These away attendances are not always easy to come by but I’ve discovered that:

Wigan had 2,468 fans present in a crowd that totalled 4,517. Sheffield Wed had even more, 2682 of the 4,627 present. Plymouths travellers totalled 705 and when the distance is considered that too has to be admired.

On Tuesday the crowd was 1,883 including 307 of us.

I agree with all these points made although obviously no-one should be looking for excuses. Seems the computer that churns out the fixture list doesn’t do us any favours when it come to our journey to that part of Lancashire.

The hardy souls who refused the offer of a seat and cover down the side