Let’s Hear It For… Accrington Stanley, Back From The Brink And Newly Promoted To League One!

Chris Wright

18th, April 2018

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Last night was a big night for Accrington Stanley who, with a 2-0 win over Yeovil, formally secured their promotion to League One.

Accrington are currently perched atop the League Two table, four points clear of Luton in second with four games left to play, but the three points garnered on Tuesday evening saw the point-gap between themselves and the play-off spots become mathematically unassailable.

Of course, winning promotion is always grounds to celebrate, but the jubilant festivities at the Crown Ground took on an added redemptive air – not only because the club will now play third-tier English football for the first time in their history but also because, not so very long ago, Stanley came perilously close to being mulched.

To call it a miracle is to undersell the hard work, passion and dedication of the staff and the players involved – long-serving manager John Coleman, outspoken chairman Andy Holt (he of ‘Burgergate‘ infamy) and financier Ilyas Khan, whose investment prevented the club from folding over an unpaid tax bill in 2009.

Stanley came close to getting themselves promoted last season, but a 93rd-minute goal for Bristol Rovers saw the Gas go up (rise, if you will) at their expense on the final day of the season.

As of next year, Accrington will be playing at some stadiums who hold more than the small Lancashire town’s 35,000 population, competing against the big boys (Portsmouth are former FA Cup winners, for example) after garnering promotion with the joint-smallest budget in League Two.

Here’s wishing them – the club that wouldn’t die – the very best of luck with all that!

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