All you need to know about our trip to the Wham Stadium
There isn’t a lot to choose between the teams in terms of current form. Stanley are currently 48th out of the 92 League clubs, based on their last six results, with Reds 47th. Both have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six.
Stanley have lost their last three games – a 2-0 loss at Lincoln last Saturday came two weeks after they had been beaten 3-2 at Sincil Bank in the Checkatrade Trophy. They also went down 2-0 at Exeter a month ago.
At the Wham Stadium Accrington are a tough nut to crack. Only Luton Town and Grimsby have won there this season in the League. Among their scalps were Championship side Preston who they beat in the Carabao Cup.
Stanley’s top scorer is Billy Kee, who has ten goals and five assists so far this season. Key gets 62% of his shots on target, a higher percentage than any League 2 player with more than seven goals this season.
Reds have only won once at the Wham Stadium, although it was one of the most significant victories in our history. Scott Neilson’s goal in May 2012 to secure a 1-0 win on the final day of the season sealed our promotion to League One.
Since then we have made two fruitless trips to Accrington. In February 2016 Reds led 1-0 at the break but lost 4-1 and had Simon Walton sent off. On Easter Monday this year we were beaten 1-0. Crawley have not beaten Stanley in three home games either. The chance to improve that record will come around quickly with the return fixture scheduled for January 27.
Stanley boss John Coleman (pictured) is the second-longest serving manager in League 2 behind Jim Bentley at Morecambe. He has been in the job since September 2014 and led Stanley to the play-offs in 2016 before they were beaten by eventual winners AFC Wimbledon in the semi-final.
