Accrington boss John Coleman hails impact of substitute Offrande Zanzala
Posted Sunday, December 02, 2018 by PA
John Coleman praised substitute Offrande Zanzala as he helped to secure a 3-1 win over Cheltenham and a place in the FA Cup third round draw.
Coleman, in his 1000th game in management with assistant Jimmy Bell, brought the Congolese striker on at half-time and he changed the game, heading home the opener after 49 minutes.
He was then fouled in the penalty area for the second, which Billy Kee slotted home in the 65th minute on his 28th birthday.
Alex Addai got one back for the League Two side in 73rd minute but Jordan Clark secured victory six minutes later.
“We were always going to put Ozzy on at half-time as, due to ineligible players, we didn’t have a lot of cover up front so we needed a threat on the bench,” Coleman said.
“It was always the plan to put him on, we knew we had that up our sleeve, and Ozzy was lively when he came on.
“We had probably been too ponderous in the first half, we had a few chances but we gave them a few as well.
“It was a well-worked corner for Ozzy’s goal and then I was delighted for Billy Kee to get his first goal in nine games. I feared for him when he walked up to take the penalty but he buried it.
“Billy had an injury and it was touch-and-go whether he would start but he battled for the cause.
“Then we got the third but it was never comfortable, it’s never comfortable unless you are four or five goals up but they caused us problems.
“We played some excellent football at times and it was a great performance from Newcastle loanee Dan Barlaser, he is a breath of fresh air.”
Coleman was relieved his side secured the win after three straight league defeats.
“It was crucial we got back to winning ways, we needed that and the prize money will make a big difference to us.
“We have now bought a ticket for the golden lottery so we will see who we get in the third round, a big draw could make a difference to this football club for years to come.”
Robins manager Michael Duff was frustrated his side failed to take their chances.
“We were relatively happy at half-time but we know Zanzala was coming on and we knew the threat he could offer.
“We tweaked the shape for the second half but we kept playing the way we did in the first half which is frustrating.
“If we had scored the first goal, I think it would have been a different story but we didn’t.
“We conceded cheap goals, we do a lot of work on set-pieces in training and they scored from the first one so that’s disappointing,
“It was a bit of a free hit as no-one expected us to come to a team in League One and win but we have had a tough week.
“We played at Bury on Tuesday and Accrington on Saturday, both good teams, and we showed in patches in both games that we can be a good team.”
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