Vital victory for Stanley
Last Updated: February 26, 2013 10:21pm
Lee Molyneux: Two-goal hero
Accrington beat Rochdale 3-0 at Spotland to lift themselves out of the League Two relegation zone on Tuesday.
Leam Richardson's men had not won a game since New Year's Day and were second best for the first half of this contest.
But they improved significantly after the break and two stunning strikes from Lee Molyneux and a close range effort from Romauld Boco condemned Dale to their first home defeat since Keith Hill returned to the club as manager last month.
The home side were close to taking the lead when Michael Rose crossed for Jason Kennedy but the midfielder headed wide from eight yards. Terry Gornell then fired a shot across the mouth of Paul Rachubka's goal but his effort ran the wrong side of the far post while Ashley Grimes side-footed wide after linking up well with Gornell on the edge of the area.
But the visitors opened up after the break and started to find gaps in Dale's defence. James Beattie had a shot deflected into Josh Lillis' arms before Molyneux broke the deadlock with a stunning 30-yard strike into the top right-hand corner of the net in the 76th minute.
And Molyneux wrapped up the win minutes later with another peach of a strike, a 25-yard free-kick which left Lillis rooted to the spot.
Boco netted the third when he slipped the ball into the net after Beattie's shot had been pushed onto the bar by Lillis.
Matches
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npower League 2
Table
npower League 2
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gillingham | 46 | 83 |
| 2 | Rotherham United | 46 | 79 |
| 3 | Port Vale | 46 | 78 |
| 4 | Burton Albion | 46 | 76 |
| 5 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | 75 |
| 6 | Northampton Town | 46 | 73 |
| 7 | Bradford City | 46 | 69 |
| 8 | Chesterfield | 46 | 67 |
| 9 | Oxford United | 46 | 65 |
| 10 | Exeter City | 46 | 64 |
| 11 | Southend United | 46 | 61 |
| 12 | Rochdale | 46 | 61 |
| 13 | Fleetwood Town | 46 | 60 |
| 14 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 60 |
| 15 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 60 |
| 16 | Morecambe | 46 | 58 |
| 17 | York City | 46 | 55 |
| 18 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 54 |
| 19 | Torquay United | 46 | 53 |
| 20 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | 53 |
| 21 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 52 |
| 22 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 46 | 51 |
| 23 | Barnet | 46 | 51 |
| 24 | Aldershot Town | 46 | 48 |
