Accrington Stanley, lauded as one of the potential candidates for relegation in this League Two campaign, had a point to prove in an excellent 1-1 draw against Gillingham on Saturday. EFL Cup action is up next.
The Reds were pitted against Gillingham on the opening day of the fourth tier season. As the home side, Accrington held their own against a vastly experienced Gills outfit. A goal from Tyler Walton – who arrived at the Wham Stadium last summer – earned Stanley a point, with the added feeling of ‘missing out on all three’ being the club consensus.
Stanley’s assistant manager, Ged Brannan, has recently spoken about his side‘s intent heading into the Preliminary Round tie versus Oldham Athletic. Following a well-fought match-up at the weekend, attention turns to a familiar meeting in this competition:
“We are disappointed we didn’t take the three points [against Oldham] but it was a good performance and we take the positives.
“It is another game for us, it’s a cup game. It doesn’t matter what round it is, Oldham is a big game no matter what. It should be a good game. It’s great to see another local team do well. Micky [Mellon] was great at Tranmere and Oldham, he is a great manager.
We have got to play a strong team, hopefully the fans will turn out for us. We have only 19 fit players, we will mix it up and it’s a big chance for players to stamp their name on the shirt. I hope it’s a good atmosphere.”
In August 2021, these outfits were drawn against each other in Round Two, culminating in a 0-0 stalemate with Oldham eventually progressing after a 5-4 showing on penalties. Considering the transformation in both of these clubs, for better or for worse, none of the named players in both lineups will feature in this instalment four years on.
Stanley will reportedly be without Ben Woods – as it stands – lining up for this fixture. The 22-year-old injured his finger against Gillingham and will have to wait for his next involvement following a mightily impressive end to last season. Woods contributed nine attacking returns in Accrington’s last 11 matches of the 2024/25 campaign.
Writer’s View
Following Oldham’s similarly impressive draw to Milton Keynes Dons – who are deemed promotion favourites and to have brought in players of higher calibre than League Two – the Greater Manchester outfit could put up a real test for Accrington Stanley.
Rotated squads from Saturday’s fixtures may be necessary if fitness is a concern, but a strong eleven is expected from both. This is a preliminary round stage, so it will be mightily important for each side to cement themselves as participants in the main draw.
