ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman praised the spirit of his side after the Reds moved in to play-off contention.

Friday night's impressive 2-0 win at Charlton saw Stanley temporarily move up to fifth place in League One although they did slip to sixth after Peterborough's 1-1 draw with Lincoln City on Saturday.

However, Coleman's side are just five points behind second-placed Hull City - thanks to Colby Bishop's double - with three games in hand.

With a three week lay-off due to Covid and weather postponements, Coleman was impressed with how his side stepped back into competitive fixtures.

He said “We just try and win every game, I feel for Charlton, we’ve caught them at the right time. They put us under a lot of pressure, it was a great game to watch as a neutral.

“We’ve got a steely determination, we’ve got a great set of lads, they bounce off each other. They work really hard, they demand high standards off each other.

“We had a little bit more in our legs because we haven’t played in a while. Overall it was a very good away performance.”

Stanley went ahead after 36 minutes, when a poor back header by Charlton skipper Jason Pearce went over the head of the outstretched Ben Amos, allowing Bishop to easily head home with the goal at his mercy.

The game was settled by Bishop after 67 minutes when he controlled a pass by Joe Pritchard to slot home past Amos.