John Coleman says Colby Bishop is “so important” to Accrington

Accrington boss John Coleman knows clubs will be chasing Colby Bishop after he scored a double in the 5-1 win over 10-man Fleetwood.

The Cod Army were dealt a blow after 23 minutes when Daniel Batty was shown a straight red for a late challenge on Harvey Rodgers.

Stanley took the lead on 29 minutes through Ethan Hamilton and it was two within a minute of the second half when Bishop chested the ball down and stroked it into the corner.

Fleetwood got one back after 57 minutes as substitute Harrison Biggins side-footed home.

But Liam Coyle blasted home the third on 72 minutes before Bishop’s clever flick made it four 12 minutes from time and Hamilton smashed home the fifth on 90 minutes.

It was a second successive league win for Stanley while it is eight league games without a victory for managerless Fleetwood.

Coleman said: “Colby is such a good player. I am staggered there aren’t Championship clubs all over him. I know Peterborough made a bid for him in the last window but he is so important to us.

“He leads the line well, he is clever, he was fantastic but there were a lot of good performances.

“I am delighted to win, it was a good game, we were playing well up to the sending off and I would have to see it again but that was a big factor in the game.

“We got the goal and scored a terrific goal after the restart but at 2-1 they had young lads and they showed energy and desire to play and they had us wobbling.

“We tweaked it and the third goal was the vital one and then we played some really good football. Any manager would be happy with six points from two games.”

Interim Fleetwood manager Stephen Crainey pointed to Batty’s dismissal as the turning point in the game.

He said: “It was a tough game, I was really disappointed with some of the refereeing decisions, I don’t think we had the rub of the green.

“That’s not making excuses, we lost the game 5-1, we conceded some sloppy goals.

“The sending off was a real big turning point in the game, I need to have a look at that again.

“At 2-1 we felt we had a chance, our response was positive and we looked the team likely to get the equaliser but the third goal was the sucker punch.

“After that we were chasing the game and got caught out a couple of times. I don’t think it was a 5-1 but the reality was it was.

“We have good young players but they need to become men soon.

“I believe we can get out of trouble. We have a good blend of young and senior pros in the changing room. From my perspective I am just taking it day by day.”