Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman had no objections about his side’s 2-1 loss in the League Two fixture against Walsall on Tuesday evening at the Bescot Stadium.
Walsall started the game better off than the away side but it was the latter who found the back of the net first. Winger Jack Nolan fired Accrington into the lead after 56 minutes from the penalty spot to score his 12th goal in all competitions this season. The Saddlers responded quickly when four minutes later defender David Okagbue, who is on loan from Championship side Stoke City, headed in from close range after a corner.
The home side found the winner in the 85th minute after centre-back Emmanuel Adegboyega, on loan from Norwich City, headed into an open net to score his third goal in four games. The Saddler’s victory sees them enter the play-off places and into seventh while the ‘Owd Reds drop to 15th in the League Two table and five points below the top seven.
Speaking after the game to the media, Coleman felt decisions went against his side but knows his men were not good enough to come away with anything against Walsall.
“The disappointing fact is we’ve conceded from two identical corners and it’s two fouls on the keeper,” he said.
“On the balance, they made more chances than us, we were hanging on at times, they missed a couple of sitters and you think it’s going to be your night but I can’t complain about the result.
“That’s about the fifth time we’ve been leading with about 25 minutes to go away from home and not won, which is disappointing.
“I’m not making excuses as Walsall deserved to win but we deserved a level playing field – what wasn’t a foul for us was a foul for them, there was just no balance, it got painful to watch.
“But with how many injuries we’ve had, the fact we’re still competing against an in-form team shows how hard our lads work – I can’t knock their effort.”
Writer’s View
This is a great win for Walsall who are now in the play-off places, but such a missed opportunity for Accrington Stanley to make something out of this season. To concede two almost identical goals is extremely disappointing and fans will feel they were let down by their team. They are still only five points away from the top seven, but they will have to win these types of games throughout the rest of the campaign if they are to achieve something.
Accrington are away to Wrexham at the weekend, and it would be a great fixture for them to make amends to. It would be a huge statement if they came away with something from the game against the side in fourth, who are on the hunt for the automatic spots. Coleman’s side now haven’t won in three games and although at a low risk of relegation, if they made it four, could see themselves slipping down the table leading to a lacklustre last few months of the season.
