2015–16 Accrington Stanley F.C. season

Accrington Stanley

2015–16 season
Chairman	Peter Marsden
Manager	John Coleman
Stadium	Crown Ground
League Two	4th (Qualification for League 2 Play-offs)
FA Cup	Second round (knocked out by Portsmouth)
League Cup	First round (knocked out by Hull City)
League Trophy	First round (knocked out by Bury)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 season was Accrington Stanley's tenth consecutive season in League Two and their 47th year in existence.^[1] Along with competing in League Two, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and League Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	CB		Tom Davies	Fleetwood Town	Free transfer	[2]
1 July 2015	GK		Ross Etheridge	Derby County	Free transfer	[3]
1 July 2015	CF		Billy Kee	Scunthorpe United	Free transfer	[4]
1 July 2015	RM		Sean McConville	Chester	Undisclosed	[5]
1 July 2015	GK		Jason Mooney	York City	Free transfer	[6]
1 July 2015	CF		Adam Morgan	Yeovil Town	Free transfer	[7]
1 July 2015	MF		Matty Pearson	FC Halifax Town	Free transfer	[8]
3 July 2015	AM		Anthony Barry	Forest Green Rovers	Free transfer	[9]
7 August 2015	CB		Liam Wakefield	Doncaster Rovers	Free transfer	[10]
14 August 2015	MF		Jack Phillips	Prescot Cables	Free Transfer	[11]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	CB		Rob Atkinson	Guiseley [lower-alpha 1]	Released	[13]
1 July 2015	CF		George Bowerman	Altrincham [lower-alpha 2]	Released	[15]
1 July 2015	CF		James Gray	Wrexham [lower-alpha 3]	Free transfer	[17]
1 July 2015	RB		Nicky Hunt	Mansfield Town [lower-alpha 4]	Free transfer	[13]
1 July 2015	ST		James Jenkins	Free Agent	Released	[15]
1 July 2015	DM		Luke Joyce	Carlisle United	Free transfer	[19]
1 July 2015	LB		Michael Liddle	Free Agent	Released	[15]
1 July 2015	RW		Kal Naismith	Portsmouth	Undisclosed	[20]
1 July 2015	GK		Tony Warner	Retired	N/A	[15]
1 July 2015	CM		Danny Whitehead	Macclesfield Town [lower-alpha 5]	Free transfer	[15]

1. Following Atkinson's release he joined Guiseley.^[12]
2. Following Bowerman's release he joined Altrincham.^[14]
3. Following Gray's release he joined Wrexham.^[16]
4. Following Hunt's release he joined Mansfield Town.^[18]
5. Following Whitehead's release he joined Macclesfield Town.^[21]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
9 July 2015	CB		Joe Wright	Huddersfield Town	2 January 2016	[22]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
11 September 2015	CF		Max Hazeldine	Stockport County	9 October 2015	[23]
22 September 2015	MF		Kealan Steenson	Clitheroe	24 October 2015	[24]

Pre-season friendlies

On 15 May 2015, Accrington Stanley announced their first pre-season friendly against Blackburn Rovers.^[25] On 19 May 2015, Accrington Stanley announced they will visit Nelson as part of their pre-season schedule.^[26] On 24 May 2015, it was announced Accrington Stanley would visit Colne on 8 July 2015 as part of their pre-season preparations.^[27] On 28 May 2015, the club announced their fourth pre-season friendly against AFC Darwen.^[28] A day later the club announced Rochdale will visit on 28 July 2015.^[29] On 30 May 2015, Accrington Stanley announced they will face Marine on 25 July 2015.^[30] A friendly against Burnley was announced on 12 June 2015.^[31] On 25 June 2015, Accrington Stanley added a home friendly against Blackpool for pre-season.^[32] On 4 July 2015, Stanley announced a pre-season fixture against Scarborough Athletic.

Match details

Football League Two

Football League Two match details

Date	League position	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Ref
8 August 2015	10th	Luton Town	H	D	1–1	Windass 61' pen.	2,359	[33]
15 August 2015	18th	Morecambe	A	L	0–1		1,865	[34]
18 August 2015	12th	Mansfield Town	H	W	1–0	McConville 33'	1,073	[35]
22 August 2015	13th	Notts County	A	D	1–1	Crooks 90'	3,825	[36]
29 August 2015	15th	Northampton Town	H	D	1–1	Windass 55' pen.	1,526	[37]
5 September 2015	15th	Portsmouth	A	D	0–0		15,745	[38]
12 September 2015	10th	Bristol Rovers	A	W	1–0	Kee 68'	6,351	[39]
19 September 2015	6th	Exeter City	H	W	4–2	Windass (2) 33', 34', Mingoia 61', Kee 63'	1,403	[40]
26 September 2015	5th	Crawley Town	A	W	3–0	Windass 45' pen., Crooks 45+3', Kee 89'	1,659	[41]
29 September 2015	4th	Yeovil Town	H	W	2–1	Windass 8', Crooks 54'	1,309	[42]
3 October 2015	7th	Oxford United	H	L	1–3	Crooks 70'	1,755	[43]
10 October 2015	5th	Barnet	A	W	2–1	Togwell 23' o.g., McConville 62'	2,229	[44]
17 October 2015	6th	Plymouth Argyle	A	L	0–1		7,865	[45]
20 October 2015	8th	AFC Wimbledon	H	L	3–4	Kee (2) 5', 10', McConville 36'	1,315	[46]
24 October 2015	7th	Dagenham & Redbridge	H	W	3–1	Conneely 2', Pearson 45+3', Windass 49'	1,104	[47]
31 October 2015	4th	Leyton Orient	A	W	1–0	Windass 25'	4,701	[48]
14 November 2015	4th	Newport County	H	D	2–2	Kee 58', Crooks 77'	1,552	[49]
21 November 2015	4th	Cambridge United	A	W	3–2	McConville 29', Davies 48', Windass 53' pen.	5,107	[50]
28 November 2015	4th	York City	A	W	5–1	Pearson 15', Kee (2) 33', 72', Windass 61' pen., McCartan 88'	2,825	[51]
19 December 2015	6th	Stevenage	A	D	1–1	Kee 85' pen.	2,818	[52]
28 December 2015	8th	Northampton Town	A	L	0–1		5,269	[53]
2 January 2016	7th	Mansfield Town	A	W	3–2	Mingoia 4', Kee 72', Gornell 85'	3,271	[54]
19 January 2016	6th	Hartlepool United	H	W	3–1	Buxton 23', McCartan (2) 45+1', 58'	1,211	[55]
23 January 2016	6th	Exeter City	A	L	1–2	McCartan 3'	3,669	[56]
30 January 2016	5th	Bristol Rovers	H	W	1–0	McConville 69'	2,027	[57]
6 February 2016	8th	Carlisle United	A	L	0–2		4,709	[58]
13 February 2016	6th	Crawley Town	H	W	4–1	Kee 48', Pearson 73', Conneely 87', Mingoia 90+1'	1,374	[59]
16 February 2016	4th	Carlisle United	H	D	1–1	Gornell 58'	2,080	[60]
20 February 2016	4th	Oxford United	A	W	2–1	Kee 46', Brown 88'	6,792	[61]
23 February 2016	4th	Notts County	H	W	3–2	Kee 14', Boco (2) 21', 51'	1,215	[62]
27 February 2016	4th	Barnet	H	D	2–2	Kee 57', Crooks 74'	1,416	[63]
1 March 2016	4th	Yeovil Town	A	L	0–1		3,207	[64]
5 March 2016	4th	AFC Wimbledon	A	D	0–0		3,627	[65]
8 March 2016	6th	Portsmouth	H	L	1–3	McCartan 83'	1,841	[66]
12 March 2016	5th	Plymouth Argyle	H	W	2–1	Kee 85' pen., McCartan 90+3'	2,044	[67]
16 March 2016	5th	Wycombe Wanderers	H	D	1–1	McCartan 45+2'	1,403	[68]
19 March 2016	5th	Dagenham & Redbridge	A	W	1–0	Kee 83'	1,345	[69]
25 March 2016	5th	Leyton Orient	H	W	1–0	Brown 51'	2,783	[70]
28 March 2016	4th	Newport County	A	W	2–0	Kee 35', Windass 37'	2,218	[71]
2 April 2016	4th	Cambridge United	H	D	1–1	Fosu 77'	2,185	[72]
9 April 2016	3rd	Luton Town	A	W	2–0	Brown 47', Gornell 84'	7,467	[73]
16 April 2016	4th	Morecambe	H	D	2–2	Windass (2) 21', 48' pen.	2,609	[74]
19 April 2016	2nd	Hartlepool United	A	W	2–1	Conneelly 3', Fosu 45+1'	3,445	[75]
23 April 2016	2nd	York City	H	W	3–0	Fosu 35', Windass (2) 69', 90+2'	2,222	[76]
30 April 2016	2nd	Wycombe Wanderers	A	W	1–0	Hughes 78'	4,041	[77]
7 May 2016	4th	Stevenage	H	D	0–0		4,386	[78]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
2	Oxford United (P)	46	24	14	8	84	41	+43	86	Promotion to Football League One
3	Bristol Rovers (P)	46	26	7	13	77	46	+31	85
4	Accrington Stanley	46	24	13	9	74	48	+26	85	Qualification for League Two play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
5	Plymouth Argyle	46	24	9	13	72	46	+26	81
6	Portsmouth	46	21	15	10	75	44	+31	78

Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2016. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(P) Promoted.
Notes:

1. Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League One.

Football League Two Play-offs

Play-off match details

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Ref
Semi-final 1st leg	14 May 2016	AFC Wimbledon	A	L	0–1		4,870	[79]
Semi-final 2nd leg	18 May 2016	AFC Wimbledon	H	D	2–2	Windass 39', Mingoia 59'	4,694	[80]

FA Cup

FA Cup match details

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Ref
First round	7 November 2015	York City	H	W	3–2	McConville 29', Crooks 36', Windass 48' pen.	1,475	[81]
Second round	5 December 2015	Portsmouth	A	L	0–1		9,258	[82]

League Cup

League Cup match details

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Ref
First round	11 August 2015	Hull City	H	D	2–2 a.e.t. 3–4 pens.	Crooks 105', Gornell 115'	2,118	[83]

Football League Trophy

Football League Trophy match details

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Ref
First round	1 September 2015	Bury	H	L	1–2	Bruna 83'	1,344	[84]

Appearances and goals

Source:^[85]

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.

Players with names struck through and marked left the club during the playing season.

Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club with Accrington Stanley.

Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

Players contracted for the 2015–16 season

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total		Discipline
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Ross Etheridge	19	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	20	0	0	1
2	DF	ENG	Matty Pearson	44	3	2	0	1	0	1	0	48	3	9	0
3	DF	ENG	Dean Winnard	14 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	16 (1)	0	5	0
4	MF	ENG	Anthony Barry	2 (6)	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	5 (6)	0	0	0
5	DF	ENG	Tom Davies	29 (1)	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	33 (1)	1	8	1
6	MF	ENG	Andrew Procter	1 (10)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	1 (11)	0	1	0
7	MF	ENG  ITA	Piero Mingoia	44	3	2	0	1	0	1	0	48	3	2	0
8	MF	ENG	Josh Windass	28	15	2	1	1	0	0	0	31	16	3	0
9	FW	ENG	Adam Morgan	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1 (2)	0	0	0
9	FW	NIR	Andy Little *	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	FW	ENG	Terry Gornell	8 (11)	3	0 (2)	0	0 (1)	1	0	0	8 (14)	4	3	0
11	MF	ENG	Sean McConville	40 (2)	5	2	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	43 (3)	5	4	0
12	MF	ENG	Liam Wakefield	7 (5)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	9 (5)	0	1	0
14	MF	ENG	Matt Crooks	32	6	2	1	1	1	0	0	35	8	12	0
15	DF	WAL	Joe Wright *	19 (1)	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	21 (1)	0	3	0
16	DF	ENG	Keenan Quansah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW	NIR	Shay McCartan	10 (15)	7	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	10 (16)	7	2	1
18	MF	ENG	Jack Phillips	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
18	MF	ENG	Scott Brown	8 (4)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8 (4)	3	0	0
19	FW	ENG	Marcus Carver	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0
20	MF	ENG	Max Hazeldine	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	MF	ARG	Gerardo Bruna	0 (3)	0	0	0	1	0	0 (1)	1	1 (4)	1	0	0
22	DF	ENG	Adam Buxton	23 (4)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	23 (4)	1	5	1
23	MF	ENG	Kealan Steenson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF	ENG	Mark Hughes	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0	2	0
25	DF	ENG	Liam Goulding	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	BEN	Romuald Boco	6 (5)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6 (5)	2	0	0
28	DF	IRL	Séamus Conneely	44	3	1	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	46 (1)	3	4	0
29	FW	ENG	Billy Kee	37 (6)	17	2	0	1	0	1	0	41 (6)	17	6	0
30	MF	ENG	Tarique Fosu *	2 (4)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2 (4)	3	1	0
33	GK	NIR	Jason Mooney	25 (1)	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	28 (1)	0	4	1
34	DF	ENG	Brad Halliday *	29 (1)	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	31 (1)	0	5	0
39	FW	WAL	Kaid Mohamed	0 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (3)	0	0	0
39	FW	ENG	Brayden Shaw	0 (4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (4)	0	1	0

References

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