Accrington Web - Prediction League Game 27; Cheltenham (away)

Cheltenham Town

Accrington Stanley

Prediction League – Game 27; v Cheltenham (away)

The Robins’ away record before they came to our place was W1 D1 L4 F9 A16; now, it’s W4 D4 L4 F20 A22 – they’ve gone 6 games away unbeaten, 3 wins and 3 draws, and their goal difference is down from -7 to -2.

At home, though, what was W4 D2 L1 F8 A6 has moved on to W5 D3 L3 F14 A11, meaning that since the beginning of November their home League record is W1 D1 L2, scoring 6 and conceding 5 :D; results have been a 4-0 win over Bradford City, a 1-1 draw with Morecambe, and home defeats by Wycombe 2-1 and Southend 2-0. Overall, since they did us over at Fortress Crown 4-2 on October 30th (second half goals from Terry Gornell when we were already 2-0 down, and Phil the Tan when it had gone to 4-1) they’ve played 11 games, including FA Cup matches (they beat Morecambe 1-0 at home in Round 1, but lost 3-0 in Round 2 at Southampton – and we all know who they’ve drawn in the next round!), and their League record in that period is P9 W3 D4 L2. Currently they’re 8th, out of the playoff places on goal difference (although all but one of the teams above them have at least one game in hand). They lie 5 places and 6 points above us, having played one game more.

A few days ago they strengthened their squad with two loan signings – striker Phil Walsh from the Daggers, who scored 3 in 9 starts on loan at Barnet earlier in the season, and Blackpool defender Ashley Eastham, who played at Whaddon Road (sorry, the Abbey Business Stadium) on loan last season, starting 20 games for them.

They’ve got 36 goals in 27 games in all competitions (having scored 4 goals three times – a 4-0 win v Bradford, a 4-2 win chez nous, and a 4-6 defeat at Rotherham); 6 times they haven’t scored at all, and 13 times they’ve only got the one goal in a game. In their last 3 they’ve got 4 points and 4 goals; we’ve got 7 points and 5 goals, making us – as I said before the Bury game – the form side :D:):D; add that to their home form in the last 2 months (1 win in 4), and we can have some cause to feel optimistic ………..;)

Leading goalscorers are Wes Thomas with 12 (11 in the League) and Jeff Goulding with 8; Josh Low has 4, Junior Smikle has 3, and half a dozen others have the odd one or two to their name.

The deadline for entries is, as ever, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3pm on Saturday 15th January. Another draw? (Did you know we’ve drawn more games than anybody in League 2 – 10, compared to Stevenage’s 9, and Crewe, Torquay and Stockport, all with 8?) Another 7-4?. An ‘iffy’1-0? A Joe Jacobsen hat-trick? Have a guess; doesn’t cost you anything ……… except your pride when it all goes wrong!

Good luck to everyone ………… and thanks for playing!

:alright: