The Hatters turned out at Edgeley Park for the final time in their glorious campaign – marking the occasion with an entertaining win against Accrington, ahead of the presentation to County at full-time of the League Two trophy and divisional winners’ medals.
In front of a sell-out home attendance, the champions claimed each half by the odd goal in three. They led twice during the first – through Kyle Wootton early on, and Connor Lemonheigh Evans just prior to the interval, after the visitors had equalised in between. And, following the interval, another Wootton goal and one from Antoni Sarcevic sandwiched Stanley’s second.
The result kept the Hatters seven points clear at the top of the table, with one game of the season, at also-promoted Wrexham left to play – as well as representing a ninth ‘double’ of the campaign, and extending their winning and unbeaten runs to eight and thirteen games, respectively.
The weather gods kindly refrained from raining on the parade, and the visiting players gave an appreciated guard of honour, as the Hatters took to the field under a suitable County colour-mix of blue sky and white cloud, and showing just one change from the starting line-up at Notts County four days earlier. Louie Barry was handed a welcome first start since his six-month lay-off – replacing Nick Powell, who was named among the substitutes.
County spent the opening minutes almost entirely in the away half – during which a couple of corners were earned, a shot by Sarcevic cleared the crossbar, and a celebratory round of fireworks peppered the skies outside EP.
Then, just after the ninth minute had been passed, the Hatters went ahead. Barry, who had already led the Accrington defence a merry dance a couple of times on the left flank, wove into the box to tee up Wootton, who right-footed a low shot into the bottom-left corner for an 11th goal of the season in all competitions and his first since Christmas.
The lower mid-table visitors, playing a fourth successive game on the road, fashioned their first chance just after the quarter-hour mark, as leading scorer Jack Nolan, to the right of County’s goal, drilled narrowly wide of the far post.
But a minute or so later, with their next opportunity, Stanley were back on level terms after Tommy Leigh squared to Shaun Whalley, who rifled home from 12 yards out.
Fraser Horsfall blasted high and wide, and both skipper Paddy Madden and Wootton drilled efforts beyond the right post, as the Hatters strove to get their noses in front again before the break. And, two minutes ahead of it, they duly did – with Sarcevic feeding Madden, who delivered from the right for Lemonheigh Evans, under pressure, to covert from six yards.
HALF-TIME: County 2 (Wootton, 9; Lemonheigh Evans, 43), Accrington 1 (Whalley, 17).
The Hatters made a quadruple-substitution upon the resumption, as they introduced Odin Bailey, Ryan Croasdale – who, having replaced Madden, also wore the captain’s armband for the new half – Myles Hippolyte and Powell.
Each side earned a corner within eight minutes of the re-start, albeit without having an attempt on goal of note until just before the hour-mark – when, in quick succession, Ben Hinchliffe was forced to tip around the right post a shot from distance by Leigh, and opposite goalkeeping number, Radek Vitek, denied Lemonheigh Evans at point-blank range.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man. And Wootton it was who, two minutes later, bagged his second, as well as County’s third, of the afternoon, after recent arrivals Powell and Hippolyte combined well on the left – from where the latter sent over a pin-point perfect cross for the big striker to head past Vitek.
Bailey and visiting substitute Dan Martin fired respective long-range shots past Stanley’s left post and over the County bar – before Nolan, with 14 minutes left, went one better, as he cut in from the right and unleashed an effort from 25 yards that squirmed beyond Hinchliffe and into the bottom-right corner to reduce the arrears.
Two minutes later, however, County’s two-goal advantage was restored, after Bailey’s delivery from the left found Sarcevic – who delightfully chipped Vitek for his second goal in as many matches, and, as at Notts in midweek, a fourth for the Hatters.
With four minutes remaining, a Sarcevic free-kick from the left found Wootton, whose header was caught by Vitek to deny a hat-trick. And just ahead of added time, Vitek kept out Hippolyte – who had been superbly set up following a mazy run by substitute Rico Richards.
And that was pretty much that, so far as proceedings on the pitch were concerned – save, of course, for the post-match presentations, and the beginnings around the ground of jubilant title-winning celebrations by players and supporters alike that would continue in and around SK3 into the evening by way of Edgeley’s biggest party since the Fourth Division championship was won in 1967.
FULL-TIME: County 4 (Wootton, 9 and 62; Lemonheigh Evans, 43; Sarcevic, 78), Accrington 2 (Whalley, 17; Nolan, 76).
Team (4-2-4): Hinchliffe; Knoyle (Richards, 73), Horsfall, Pye, Bristow (Hippolyte, 46); Camps (Powell, 46), Sarcevic; Lemonheigh Evans, Madden (Capt.) (Croasdale, 46), Wootton, Barry (Bailey, 46).
Unused Subs: Smith, Byrne.
Booked: Knoyle. Barry.
Man of the Match: Sarcevic.
Attendance: 10,120 (337 away).
Reporter: Gareth Evans.
Photographer: Mike Petch.
