John Coleman breathed a sigh of relief after Stanley secured a 1-0 win against battling National League side Barnet in the second round of the FA Cup.

There wasn’t a lot in the clash at the Wham Stadium and it looked to be heading for a replay when, on 84 minutes, Rosaire Longelo’s cross was parried out by keeper Laurie Walker and Ethan Hamilton pounced to fire home the winner.

Coleman admitted: “It was a tough game, Barnet had a big part of the game in the first half.

“They made it difficult for us. They had the ball in the box a lot, we hit the post early on but we didn’t really get going in the first half.

“We seemed to want to help them on the way. The weather was difficult for both teams with the wind, it was swirling, so didn’t know where the ball would travel to but we had the wind in the second half which helped us.

“It was always going to be a scrappy goal which settled a scrappy game and thankfully we were the ones who got it. You need that little bit of luck and we got it with the goal.

“They are a good side but we should be better, we are two leagues above them but you wouldn’t know that today and that’s testament to how well they played.

“With 15 minutes to go, I would have taken 0-0 as we would be in the draw. It’s a big boost for us getting the prize money never mind the prospect of another tie.

“We are often the underdogs but this time we were expected to win and win in style. That’s not always the case, and that’s why the FA Cup is fantastic.”

The third-round draw takes place on Monday evening between 7pm and 7:30pm and will be shown live on BBC Two as well as the official FA Cup Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.