JOHN Coleman could not contain his anger after seeing Accrington Stanley throw away three points last night.

The Reds looked on course for that elusive home win when Ian Craney sent Stanley ahead with a stunning free-kick.

Craney's moment of magic came seconds after Rochdale midfielder David Perkins was sent off for a horrific studs-up lunge on Jay Harris.

A goal to the good - and with an extra man to boot. It seemed too good to be true.

And so it proved, as the Spotland outfit rallied back in the second-half, with strikes from livewire Kallum Higginbotham and Glen Murray.

But Stanley were awful after the interval, cumbersome in defence and unthreatening in attack - all against 10 men.

They were also second best in the determination stakes. Rochdale wanted it more - and that devastated Reds boss Coleman, who pulled no punches in his post-match interview.

Hurt by the manner of defeat, he said: "We've absolutely thrown the game away and that can't go on.

"It can't go on for my own health because I'll end up having a heart attack.

"But the best team won. The team that wanted to win won.

"That's very disappointing for any of my sides to be like that, and I've got to take the blame for that.

"I'm in charge, I'm the man that steers them, so if a team can come here and want it more than us, then I've got to take some of that blame."

Coleman is not one to heavily criticise his players in public, but centre-backs Robbie Williams and Mark Roberts came in for his full wrath.

The Stanley boss continued: "We were too brittle at the back. Robbie Williams had a tremendous season last season. But this season, he's been so far short of his best its untrue.

"Mark Roberts came here and had a good start. The two of them didn't have a great deal to do tonight, but what they did, they did wrong.

"It's clear for everyone to see and there's no point hiding. Sometimes, you have got to go out and name names.

"It was not just those two tonight, because there was a lot of poor performances, but them two in particular let us down."

Stanley have now lost nine of their 12 games in all competitions at the Fraser Eagle Stadium this season.

Rochdale enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, and Glen Murray came close to sending the visitors ahead with a cheeky overhead kick.

But Accrington weathered the storm and, slowly but surely, began to show greater assurance on the ball.

Their night changed when Perkins was given his marching orders for a wild studs-up challenge on Jay Harris.

It was a moment of sheer recklessness from the Dale midfielder - and completely out of the blue too.

Harris was hugging the touchline when Perkins crazily stormed in with both feet, his right boot thudding into the back of the Reds man's calf.

It quickly changed the game and, almost immediately, a galvanised Stanley snatched the lead.

Rochdale centre-back Nathan Stanton needlessly fouled Paul Mullin centre of goal, at least 25 yards out.

Craney did the rest for Stanley, his beautiful free-kick curled with precision into the top corner, offering Dale goalkeeper Sam Russell no chance.

Suddenly, Accrington had their tails up. But there was always danger lurking from the visitors, despite being a player down.

A fine, bursting run from captain Gary Jones was brought to an end by Williams' crunching tackle, but Adam Rundle picked up the pieces to fire just over.

Stanley really needed a second to kill off the challenge from the Spotland outfit, but chances were at a premium for Coleman's men.

Craney showed flashes of talent, and Harris fired a skidding effort just wide.

But a fired-up Rochdale were ever-dangerous, landing a flurry of free-kick outside the Reds box. From one, Mullin cleared off his own line following a goalmouth melee.

Rochdale eventually grabbed their equaliser. Veteran John Doolan sent Higginbotham clear, and the youngster out-sprinted Williams before firing past Dunbavin.

It was a major blow for Stanley, but the hosts rallied for 10 minutes. Stanton hacked clear a goal-bound effort from Procter, while the Reds midfielder headed another chance over the bar from a good position.

But the Reds never truly threatened the Dale goal, as the visitors continued to crank up the pressure.

Murray, completely unmarked, served notice to his obvious heading ability with an effort that flashed narrowly wide.

But on 75 minutes, the lone striker made Stanley pay.

The Reds failed to deal with Rory McArdle's corner and Murray powered home.

The bustling striker was unlucky not to add to his tally.

He beat Dunbavin with a low shot, but the ball got stuck in the mud as it was rolling towards the goal-line.