John Coleman hails his players after Accrington’s victory over Colchester

Posted Sunday, April 08, 2018 by PA

John Coleman heaped praise on his Accrington players after their 1-0 win at Colchester left them on the brink of promotion.

Billy Kee’s second-half strike earned the leaders a seventh successive win in League Two, leaving them just one win away from elevation to the third tier.

Coleman said: “Anything we do this season – and we’ve had no success yet – the players should take all the praise for because they’ve been absolutely magnificent all season.

“We’ve got ourselves into a wonderful position but we have to keep ourselves focused and keep trying to grind out the other wins that we need.

“I thought we controlled the game in the first 25 minutes but then we just lost our way a little bit.

“Colchester got on top a little bit and it was even-steven for the last five or 10 minutes of the first half.

“They started the second half really brightly and pinned us back and I was fearing for us but we defended magnificently.

“We stepped up a gear, got the goal and we should have got three or four more after that.

“It was a really big shift and the boys are working ever so hard.”

Accrington’s winner came in the 63rd minute when Colchester goalkeeper Sam Walker palmed Jordan Clark’s cross onto Kee, to leave the home side four points off the play-off places.

Colchester head coach John McGreal said: “There’s a reason why they’re top of the league and that’s because of the 1-0 margins that they’ve had of late.

“They’re a terrific team and I compliment them on what they’re done and the fantastic team they’ve got there.

“The run that they’ve been on has been out of the ordinary and it proves at this moment in time that they’re the best in the league.

“The first half was a tight affair but I thought that we started the second half particularly well.

“We gained some territory which we felt we needed to do but we didn’t make the most of the territory that we had.

“We were in possession before their goal and it was a poor one to give away.

“They hit us on the counter and soaked up the pressure.

“We made a fist of it and it was a tight game with not much between the two teams.”

Stanley shaded an even first-half with Clark lobbing over and Walker saving Mark Hughes’ fierce strike, while Seamus Conneely fired a shot inches wide for the leaders.

Courtney Senior and Drey Wright both came close for Colchester after the break.

But after Kee had broken the deadlock, keeper Walker twice denied Kayden Jackson and also foiled Kee as Stanley edged closer to promotion.