As
far as FA Cup second round ties go, a trip to Accrington Stanley is
probably among the least desirable. It's not just because of the lack
of glamour surrounding our opponents, but also because it's another
away trip up north (we have failed to pick up a point this season
north of Oxford – that's six defeats from six league games) and it
lacks even the appeal of being against a side from another division –
it's just over a month since the two sides met at the Kassam.
Much
has changed at Accrington since that game, however. Manager Paul Cook
has left for Chesterfield, and right-back Leam Richardson has been
named his successor. Stanley have continued to be a model of
inconsistency since the change, and come into the game having won,
drawn and lost in their last three matches. A potential good omen for
us this weekend is that Accrington's home form is poor this season,
with five of their ten league games at the Crown Ground ending in an
away victory. Stanley reached the second round thanks to a
comfortable 4-1
victory in a Lancashire derby over AFC Fylde of the Northern
Premier League.
Accrington
will be without regular centre-back Rob Atkinson after he was
recalled by parent club Fleetwood. As for us there is some good news
on the injury front, with Damian Batt likely to return to the
matchday squad after a groin injury which has kept him sidelined for
several weeks.
We
have the better of Accrington from the two clubs' short history of
matches, but it took a few meetings for that trend to become apparent. Neither side
was able to find the net in our first two matches against each other
and the third also ended in deadlock. However, the last two games
have gone the way of the yellows, with a 2-0 victory back in March
(which, incidentally, ended up being our last win of the season –
more than a month before our final fixture) and an impressive 5-0
thumping of an out-of-sorts Accrington in October.
Also This Weekend
Recent
weather has wiped out football at the lower levels of the game, and
both ladies teams fell victim to it last weekend. But if the weather
is kinder this week, the table-topping ladies are due to host bottom
of the league Gloucester City at 2 PM on Sunday. I won't say this
one's a home banker but, well, it is.
Meanwhile
the youth team saw their incredible winning streak ended last weekend
after 12 games as they lost 3-1 in a friendly to Derby County. This
weekend, they will hope to start a brand new run as they return to
the league with a home match against Exeter City on Saturday morning.
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