Accrington Stanley 1 – 0 Latics: No way back for aimless Latics

In Micky Mellon we trust, although we do not always understand where he’s coming from or what he wants. 

Accrington Stanley 1

Robson 31(og)

Latics 0

Attendance: 3,031

Today’s defeat exposed Mellon Snr’s occasional habit of over-thinking the starting line-up based on factors we don’t know understand or know about, or that he doesn’t normally care about, and then of failing to find the right formula from among the six outfield substitutes.

The first 25 minutes were okay for Latics. Whatever the formation was, it was working.

They started with only one striker, but the midfield showed willing in attack after just three minutes. Luke Hannant raced in from the right wing to meet a cross from Kai Payne from the opposite wing at the near post. After only four minutes, Payne’s shot from the edge of the area was well saved by Ollie Wright between the Accrington sticks.

Hawkes then put two efforts from outside the box – one a free-kick – over the bar. When he was forced off with a calf or ankle injury after only 23 minutes, Latics were much the worse for it. Correlation is not causation, incidentally.

The big question at the beginning of the day was whether Mellon would pick Mike Fondop and Kane Drummond to start the game after their contributions as substitutes last Saturday. He picked neither. Would Burnley loanee Michael Mellon be the lone striker? No, he wouldn’t. That would be Joe Quigley, easily the slowest of the bunch.

It was baffling to start with and became less fathomable as the game went on. Drummond replaced Hawkes, and on 66 minutes was himself replaced by Mike Fondop, meaning that the two players who lit a fire under the side when they came on at half time last week spent not one second on the pitch together this afternoon.

In between times, Accrington took the lead on 31 minutes. From a Latics point of view, the goal was both depressing and comical. Whalley launched a free kick from near the centre circle to the Latics back post. Benn Ward’s shot wasn’t as fierce as Mat Hudson thought it was, and Hudson mistimed his pre-meditated parry, putting it right under the feet of Jamie Robson on the line. As Robson tried to unravel his legs, he nudged the ball goalwards and into the opposite corner. It crossed the line in slow motion.

The question of how Latics intended to get back into the game became less easy to answer as time went by. On 51 minutes, Mellon Snr replaced Hannant with Jack Stevens and Joe Quigley with Mellon Jnr. It wasn’t entirely clear what they were asked to do and whether they did it until very near the end of the game, when Stevens started to get some joy out of the otherwise joyless referee.

Stanley were having the better of the play in the second half and looked the more likely. Everton loanee Isaac Heath was impressive on the left against a tired-looking Jake Caprice.

The Latics fans getting soaked on the open terrace sang for Mike Fondop on 62 minutes. Mellon brought him and Dynel Simeu on four minutes later. The back four or three or five shuffled about a bit, the midfielders pointed at different areas of the pitch where they thought someone else or the ball should be, and instructions never stopped coming from the touchline, but still Latics were without direction.

Mellon Jnr had a couple of shots from free kicks. The first was too far out and speculative and the keeper saved it. The second was dangerous until it cannoned off a Latics player in the box and was cleared.

Latics went closest when the ball ricocheted off Mellon and dribbled past the post. It would have been nice for Latics to get an unplanned equaliser having turned up without a plan, but that’s life sometimes.

Accrington Stanley: Ollie Wright, Donald Love, Conor Grant, Farrend Rawson (Connor O’Brien HT), Liam Coyle, Shaun Whalley (c) Charlie Caton (87), Paddy Madden, Isaac Sinclair, Benn Ward, Devon Matthews, Isaac Heath

Subs not used: Michael Kelly, Alex Henderson, Joe Bauress, Seamus Conneely, Josh Woods

Latics: Mat Hudson, Tom Pett (c), Donervon Daniels, Manny Monthé, Ryan Woods, Joe Quigley (Michael Mellon 51), Luke Hannant (Jack Stevens 51), Jake Caprice, Josh Hawkes(Kane Drummond 25 (Mike Fondop 66), Jamie Robson(Dynel Simeu 66), Kai Payne

Subs not used: Tom Donaghy, Reagan Ogle