Stefan Mols believes there are enough positive signs for Accrington Stanley to take into Tuesday’s home encounter with Grimsby Town despite suffering a 3-2 defeat at Walsall.
Stanley slipped to another setback after conceding twice early on at the Bescot Stadium, leaving themselves with a mountain to climb.
Mols pulled a goal back and Accrington finished strongly, but their late rally ultimately proved insufficient as they left the West Midlands empty-handed.
Reflecting on the defeat, Mols felt Stanley had been punished for a slow start.
“I think, obviously, we might not have started the best. We give away goals early doors and then it’s always hard to come back from that,” he said.
“If you give any team a goal or two at the start, you’re always going to find it tough. But I think, credit to the lads, the way we finished the game and the way we always fought to the end.”
Mols admitted there was personal satisfaction at scoring his first league goal for the club, but the result overshadowed his individual achievement.
“Personally, for myself, it was nice to get off the mark for the season, but ultimately it’s a team game and we just came up short today.”
Despite trailing for much of the afternoon, Stanley continued to push forward and almost snatched a point in the closing stages, with appeals for a late penalty waved away.
Mols believes the manner of the comeback attempt underlined the spirit within John Doolan’s squad.
“I think we’ve got a never-say-die attitude. We’ll fight to the very end and when I was on the pitch, I thought there was something there for us today.
“Like you said, we could have had a penalty. I won’t touch too much on it, but that’s how it goes sometimes and you don’t get those decisions and you move on.”
The former Tamworth midfielder has adapted quickly to life in League Two since arriving at the Wham Stadium and says the support of his team-mates has helped him settle.
“The lads have helped me really settle in well. I’ve really enjoyed it and now, for me personally, it’s just about trying to get as many minutes as I can and trying to impress and get myself back into the starting team.”
Attention now turns to Tuesday’s home encounter with Grimsby Town, with Stanley still searching for their first league win of the season.
Mols says securing that breakthrough result is the focus throughout the dressing room.
“Absolutely. All the lads, that’s the one thing on everyone’s mind, trying to get that first win of the season and then keep going from there.
“We’ve got a lot of quality. The quality is incredible from the back to the strikers. It’s just about sticking together and getting that first win of the season under our belt and then I feel like we’ll be able to kick on from there.”
With confidence still high despite the disappointing outcome at Walsall, Mols is confident Stanley can respond quickly.
“No, absolutely. And that’s what we’ll try and go out and do on Tuesday.”
The challenge for Accrington now is turning encouraging performances and fighting spirit into points, starting against Grimsby as they look to get their campaign up and running.
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