Frank Lampard and Derby County advanced into the FA Cup fifth round, but only after being made to fight tooth and nail by League One Accrington Stanley.
Accrington are used to battling against the odds and it looked like they were going to survive going down to ten men just before the hour mark following the sending off of midfielder Dan Barlaser, until Martyn Waghorn popped up with a 78th minute winner to deny them a money-spinning replay.
Derby had struggled for most of the game to create genuine opportunities on a bobbly pitch, but they struck lucky following a short corner. As Duane Holmes danced his way into the box, the ball broke for Waghorn and he slammed it home, amid much relief among the travelling contingent.
Lampard’s team have impressed in cup football this season, winning on penalties at both Manchester United and Southampton, but the Wham Stadium is a world away from those Premier League venues, and they can count themselves fortunate to have seen off their tenacious opponents. And the four-time FA Cup winners will know they will struggle to have a harder tie however far they go in this season’s competition.
It was still a day to be proud of though, for the hosts. This live TV fixture against prestigious Championship opponents showcased them as one of the success stories of English football.
Under John Coleman’s managerial expertise, and operating on a shoestring budget, they won League Two last season and are holding their own in the higher league this season despite averaging home crowds of little more than 2,000. So they richly deserved the £400,000 generated by this tie.
While Coleman has over 1,000 games under his belt as a manager, Lampard has under 40, but he is no fool and he knew that his opponents needed full respect and as such, named a strong team despite promotion to the Premier League being the obvious priority.
In an open start, there were chances at both ends as Waghorn’s header was well parried by home goalkeeper Jonathan Maxted, before Jordan Clark had his head in his hands after he volleyed over when in space in front of the Derby goal.
The teams are separated by 32 places on the league ladder, but while the visitors enjoyed more of the ball, Accrington did not suffer from any kind of inferiority as Clark and right wing-back Callum Johnson were not far off target at the end of promising raids forward.
Things got heated just before the break as Jayden Bogle went down in the box at the end of a promising attack. His penalty claims were dismissed and home defender Ross Sykes let him know exactly what he thought of that as he appeared to kick the Derby full-back on the floor. Bogle reacted strongly but both players escaped with just a stern word from referee Jon Moss.
Accrington’s task was made harder in the second half when Barlaser blotted his copybook as he was shown a second yellow card for a stiff challenge on David Nugent. Having been booked for a foul on Harry Wilson in the first few minutes, the red card was inevitable.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Accrington actually had the better chances. Top scorer and Northern Ireland international Billy Kee was twice close to breaking the deadlock, with a fine strike and then a header before they were undone by Waghorn’s goal.
There was still time for drama as Bogle was sent off in the last minute to even up the numbers for hauling down Paul Smyth as the Accrington substitute threatened to burst clear and it needed a brilliant save from Kelle Roos to tip away Kee’s low free-kick and deny Stanley a much-deserved replay.
