John Doolan sees new Accrington as unbeaten run hits five games

John Doolan believes Accrington’s 1-0 win over Oldham showcased their improvement from last season.

Stanley finished just two places above the League Two relegation zone and continued to struggle at the start of this campaign, but a five-game unbeaten run has moved them towards mid-table.

The game at the Wham Stadium was settled by an own goal in the 31st minute. A Shaun Whalley free-kick found Benn Ward, whose shot was pushed out by Mat Hudson onto his team-mate Jamie Robson and the ball went in off the post.

Oldham’s best effort fell to substitute Kane Drummond on the stroke of half-time when he was clean through but was denied by the legs of keeper Ollie Wright.

Doolan said: “In this run we are on, we have grown in confidence, there is a change in mentality, you can see the difference in us from last season.

“All you want to do is win and Oldham have done everything – they have changed personnel, changed formation, changed style. Everything they threw at us, the lads answered the questions and we stood up to all their changes.

“We now keep going, keep creating chances and we need to keep the momentum going forward.

“We have got lads from under-21 and non-league football and they give you so much, they have done so well. They run through brick walls for the team.

“It’s all about winning games and getting away from that bottom end so we need to keep that run going.”

Micky Mellon, whose side have the best defensive record in the fourth tier and had been on an unbeaten four-game league run, admitted it was not a pretty game.

He said: “I am really frustrated that, in a game which lacked any kind of quality, we have lost a goal from a set-play.

“We knew before the match that it might be like that and we spoke before about the importance of set-plays in a game like this.

“We have a good defensive record so the goal was very uncharacteristic for us. We practise and speak about set-plays and we have left their man free to get a header.

“I don’t think anybody really got their teeth into the game and it was always going to be separated by a moment. It was probably Accrington’s only effort but we didn’t have many either.

“We huffed and puffed but we knew the importance of when you did get the moments, you had to go and show what a good player you are, but then at the other end we didn’t have to defend much either.

“We tried everything to change it, tried to find something or someone who could make a difference on a wet afternoon in Accrington, but we couldn’t.”