Preview: Fleetwood Town v Accrington Stanley

26 February 2021

Fleetwood Town face Accrington Stanley on Saturday 27 February at Highbury Stadium in Sky Bet League One, and we have all you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off in our match preview.

Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Accrington Stanley

Competition: Sky Bet League One

Date: Saturday 27 February 2021

Kick-off: 15:00

Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6TX

Match officials: Sam Allison (Referee), Geoffrey Liddle & Chris Isherwood (Assistant Referees), Sebastian Stockbridge (Fourth Official)

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FLEETWOOD TOWN

Town are looking to build on their recent home form on Saturday, as the side are currently four games unbeaten at Highbury Stadium.

In Town’s last outing, Town lost out in a tough battle against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats opened the scoring with an Aiden O’Brien header before Max Power doubled their lead just before the final whistle.

The time before that, Fleetwood shared the points at Highbury Stadium as they drew 1-1 with Charlton Athletic. The Addicks took the lead early on as loanee Jayden Stockley nodded past Alex Cairns from five yards. Simon Grayson’s side worked their way back into the game just before half-time as Paddy Madden finished off a brilliant move, which meant the points would have to be shared.

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ACCRINGTON STANLEY

John Coleman’s side are sitting just outside the play-off spots in League One at the moment and will be looking to close the gap to the top six at the weekend.

Last time out, Stanley travelled to the Alexandra Stadium to face Crewe Alex, but that ended in a 2-0 loss on the night. Omar Beckles opened the scoring in the first-half, and with Harvey Rodgers being sent off five minutes into the second half, it opened the game up for Chris Potter to score a second 20 minutes from time.

Accrington also matched Fleetwood’s result in the game before as they drew 1-1 with Shrewsbury Town at home. Seamus Conneely broke the deadlock seconds before the half-time break but, with 13 minutes to go, Shaun Whalley found the back of the net, levelling up the score line.

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ONE TO WATCH: DION CHARLES

One to watch from Accrington is forward, Dion Charles. The Preston-born attacker is the current top goal scorer for Stanley so far this season, with 14 goals, and 13 of those have come in the league.

Charles started his career as a trainee at Blackpool but moved on to AFC Fylde back in 2014. Whilst at the club from Mill Farm, he made over 50 appearances in his two-years there, scoring 18 goals in that time before moving to the Cod Army in July 2016.

After signing for Fleetwood, he made his debut in an EFL Trophy cup tie against Carlisle United but spent most of his time out on loan out on loan at FC Halifax Town. He initially went to Yorkshire in March 2017 and made his debut the day he signed and scored his first goal just a week later.

He re-joined Halifax the season on a six-month loan and continued his scoring form and was sold to National League North side Southport when his loan expired. He seemed to enjoy his spell there, scoring a goal every three games and attracted the attention of Accrington in 2019, where he signed in August of that year.

The 25-year-old didn’t have to wait long for a goal as he scored in his second appearance for the club, in a 3-2 loss to Shrewsbury Town. Since signing for Stanley, he has gone on to appear in over 70 games in all competitions and had found the net on 23 occasions.

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WATCH TOWN ON iFOLLOW!

Supporters can now purchase video match passes for Fleetwood Town’s Sky Bet League One clash against Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

With fans still unable to attend games, the iFollow match pass is your best option to watch the Cod Army play.

Simon Grayson's side are set to host Accrington in a league clash at Highbury on Saturday and you can watch the game for just £10!

If you'd like to purchase your match pass, click HERE.

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Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Town share the points in Accrington draw at Highbury

27 February 2021

Fleetwood Town played out a 1-1 draw with Accrington Stanley on a sunny afternoon at Highbury on Saturday.

The visiting side opened the scoring 22 minutes into the game as Adam Phillips received the ball from a short free-kick and drilled the ball into the back of the net, before Fleetwood’s response just a minute later as Wes Burns beat his man and levelled it up.

Accrington had the first chance of the game, which was from a free-kick, that Burns conceded. Matt Butcher stepped up and tried to catch the goalkeeper off guard with a low drilled shot, but Alex Cairns spotted it early and easily collected,

A couple of minutes later, the Fleetwood players thought they should have had a penalty as Danny Andrew stormed down the wing and crossed the ball into Kyle Vassell, who was seemingly dragged to the ground inside the box. The referee decided that it was a fair challenge and play would carry on.

Ged Garner found some space on the left-wing and after composing himself, he decided to try his luck from 25-yards, forcing Nathan Baxter into a diving save as he pushed it out for a corner. Nothing came from the resulting set-piece.

Accrington broke the deadlock 22 minutes in as they played a short free-kick to Phillips, on the edge of the Fleetwood box, and unleashed a venomous strike that flew into the top-left corner.

Town reacted straight away and levelled the scoreline less than 60 seconds later as Dan Batty played Burns in down the wing, he took on his man and struck the ball towards goal, beating Baxter at the near post.

Ten minutes later, James Hill threw the ball into the packed Accrington box, which was only temporarily dealt with and pushed out to Vassell. He then turned past his man and stung the palms of the goalkeeper from close range.

The pressure carried just before the break with Burns breaking down the right yet again. He pushed the ball onto his right foot and struck the ball towards the near post, which needed to be saved by Baxter.

Accrington came out the blocks the better side as they managed to create multiple chances straight away. The first was a strike from distance by Joe Pritchard which hit the outside of the post. Then, they played a cross into the box where Dion Charles headed just wide of the far post.

After the early chances, the second half was mostly spent in the middle of the park. The only chance of note was an ambitious free-kick from the halfway line, which had to be tipped over by Cairns.

With 20 minutes to go, Callum Camps picked up the ball inside Town’s half and decided to drive towards the Accrington goal, taking on multiple players, but dragged his shot just wide of the target. The midfielder had another chance soon after from range but Baxter did enough to keep the ball out.

Town were awarded a penalty ten minutes later as Burns faked a run on the outside, before cutting in. Burgess was wrong-footed in the exchange and fouled the winger inside the box. Josh Morris stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his effort was saved by Baxter.

Town XI: Cairns (GK), Andrew, Connolly (C), Burns, Camps, Mulgrew (J.Morris 50’), Rossiter, Vassell (Saunders 90’), Batty, Garner, Hill.

Subs not used: Coleman (GK), Duffy, Donacien, Biggins, S.Morris.

Stanley XI: Baxter (GK), Nottingham, Hughes, Burgess, Butcher (McConville 66’), Pritchard (Morgan 81’), Barclay, Bishop, Conneely (C), Charles (Russell 84’), Phillips (Smyth 66’).

Subs not used: Savin (GK), Maguire, Uwakwe.