[choirboy]

An excellent three points in the 2-0 victory over a good Oxford side on a very wet evening!
Oxford had the edge over Stanley in midfield for most of the match but our boys produced the goods where it mattered. ie. In the goal mouth action at both ends of the field. Our defence once again stood tall, (literally), with Sykes so dominant with his headed clearances and Nottingham using his experience similarly with his head but playing very calmly with the ball at his feet and hardly wasting a pass all night. Amankwah had probably his best game for us and Mitch Clarke was superb again. Mitch not only marked his opponent out of the match but he was also so effective going forward down the right wing. The regular match time that he has got recently has sharpened up his speed and he has certainly developed an eye for goal.
Our midfield had less possession than our opponents due to their very slick passing and control. We perhaps needed to press their midfielders a little more.
Up front we clearly missed Colby Bishop but new boy, Adedoyin, worked very hard and could have scored with a bit more luck. Substitute Longelo looked dangerous when he came on too.
Our goals were both superbly set up and taken by scorers O’Sullivan and Hamilton. A good pass from Nottingham found O’Sullivan just outside the penalty area and he thumped a dipping shot into the bottom right hand corner. In added time in the closing stages of the match Sykes found himself out on the right wing! He had time to look up and superbly picked out Hamilton on the edge of the penalty area. He side stepped two tackles and smashed the ball past the Oxford keeper to sent the Stanley faithful into raptures!
The Clayton End had played their part all night with their constant singing and the second goal allowed us to really enjoy that closing minutes of added time.
ON STANLEY ON.
KEEP THE FAITH.