[choirboy]

It was a very important three points won today!
For me Notts County were a better team than some teams that have beaten us at home earlier in the season!
I thought that we started a bit too casually in the first fifteen minutes and Omar in particular was taking far too long on the ball. However, we gradually got on top of them later in the first half and fully deserved our goal before the interval. It was a welcome sight to see a variant on the perpetually 'chipped in' corners from Sean.......the short version with Sean overlapping inside to deliver a lovely cross from a different angle was good to see. Harvey Rodgers leaped like a 'Salmon up a Stream' to head the ball in superbly! What a welcome sight it was to see the Stanley fans jumping with glee as we took a well deserved lead!
The second half was quite different as County dominated for a good thirty minutes and we scored somewhat against the run of play. It was simply great to see the ball hit the back of the net in front of a vociferous Clayton End and wonderful for the new lads to be involved too! The fans in the Clayton End were brilliant even when County were putting tremendous pressure on us in the second half and I really believe that this helped the players to dig deep and 'tough it out'. After we scored, the relief was palpable and we sang even more exuberantly in the Clayton End in urging our boys on to a great victory!
Harvey Rodgers was immense today, he fully deserved his goal but what really impresses me about him is the way he defends. He NEVER EVER takes his eye off the ball when defending against his opponent, and even when he seems to have been turned inside out his ability to 'SPIN' and get back into the 'EYEBALL' position is supreme! Then of course his timing is spot on when he puts his foot in or blocks the pass or attempted cross! It is a real pleasure to watch this boy play! MOM bang on for me!
In the first half Rommy was once again 'Mr Mobility'...up and down the field from left back to right wing......running at defenders, linking well and chasing back and getting important tackles in too. He drifted out of the game in the second half when County were dominating possession but he is the epitome of the true spirit of Accrington Stanley and during the match he dutifully waved acknowledgement of his efforts to the Stanley Faithful cheering his name in the Clayton End. 'The Don', Billy, Sean and Hughes were excellent too today.
The new lads who have arrived recently looked great today and although Stanley seemed to be a little quiet during the January' Merry go round' it looks like Coley and Jimmy have once again been very very astute in picking up some young lads on loan with so much great potential in order to help our cause in the second half of the season.
I feel on top of the world this evening and I am sure that our players do too. I hope that this result gives the team the confidence to play some great football and pull us to League Two safety and a much higher placing in the division.
ON STANLEY ON
KEEP THE FAITH