ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman says Josh Windass was groomed for success after the midfielder scored his first goal for the Reds in the 1-0 win over Burton Albion, writes SAM ROBINSON.

After waiting almost 18 months to get off the mark for Stanley, Windass finally broke his duck with a match-winning 25 yard strike which flashed past Brewers goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin into the bottom corner.

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“I said to him if he gets his hair cut he may score. He got it cut and sure enough he’s scored!” Coleman laughed.

“It was a great finish and something that we have been trying to encourage.

“It was a great ball into Terry (Gornell) and we wanted Josh to support him. He did and it was a lovely first-time finish.

“It’s something we’ve worked on in training so it’s pleasing when it comes off.”

That was not the only hard work from the training ground that came off for the Reds as a change in formation paid dividends for Coleman’s team.

The Reds chief usually favours a 4-2-3-1 system, but played a previously unused 3-5-2 against Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s side, using wingers Piero Mingoia and Kal Naismith as full-backs just as he did in last Friday’s 1-1 draw with Cheltenham Town.

The tactical alteration my have caught the league leaders off guard and it definitely frustrated them as the Brewers did not register a single shot on target ,while Stanley stretched their unbeaten run to four games following a run of five successive defeats.

“We’d only really worked on the system for a day so for the players to turn in a performance like that is a great credit to them for taking on board what we were trying to do and applying themselves,” he said.

“I’m really pleased for the players and the effort they put in.

“It was magnificent but I’m disappointed that we haven’t troubled them a bit more.

“In the first half we played attacking football but in the second half we didn’t get out as much as we’d like to and defended our lead. That wasn’t by design, you have to credit Burton for pushing us back.

“But my players deserve credit too. They’ve kept the league leaders at arm’s length and protected the goalkeeper well.

“There are some very tired legs which shows the effort that they put in and we have proved that we can compete with the best in this division.”