Coleman admits: Accrington Stanley had a stroke of luck (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Coleman admits: Accrington Stanley had a stroke of luck

9:17am Monday 8th February 2010 in

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JOHN Coleman admitted his Accrington Stanley men had luck on their side as they beat Lancashire rivals Morecambe in a derby to savour on Saturday.

But the bullish boss believed his Reds are working hard enough to earn their breaks after Jimmy Ryan’s wonder strike and a brace from Bobby Grant landed Stanley yet another win over the shell shocked Shrimps.

“The result is paramount,” said Coleman. “Morecambe more than played their part.

“They are a good team, they played well and they pressed us back.

“They deserved to go in front both times and they had us right on the back foot and luckily we responded twice because they were in the mood not only to beat us but to take us apart.

“But my lads have a lot about them. They really have the guts and spirit – but they work damn hard and deserve their breaks.”

The five-goal thriller was sealed seven minutes from time by Ryan’s sensational volley with the outside of his right foot.

And Coleman laughed: “If anyone saw Jimmy’s goal on the telly on Saturday night they would think they had had a few too many to drink.

“But goals like that are never out of the blue from Jimmy. By his own admission he had missed one much easier and he has been disappointed with his own shooting this year.

“And I did feel a bit sorry for Morecambe because you simply cannot defend that sort of strike.

“Morecambe are a very good side. They play good football and they impress me every time I see them.

“They have a very good following and everyone in the crowd got entertainment in abundance on Saturday.”

Not all the entertainment was of the football kind as Coleman made a dash on to the pitch after a horror foul by Neil Wainwright on Tom Lees seconds into the second half.

The initial incident was missed by referee Neil Swarbrick, who then managed to smooth the situation by talking to players and giving Coleman a ticking off.

“It was a silly challenge and I reacted spur of the moment because it was a bad foul,” said Colemen.

Morecambe boss Sammy McIlroy said: “It was a great game, a great derby – but the loss is hard to take.

“When we went in front we did not cope. Stanley put some big balls into our box and we were not smart enough to deal with them.”