Accrington Stanley finished the League One season with a win but their relegation was confirmed at Oxford United.
Goals from Korede Adedoyin and an 85th minute winner from Brentford loan striker Aaron Pressley gave the 250 Stanley fans a chance to cheer a rare away win this season but it wasn’t enough as they bowed out after five years in League One in 23rd place.
It’s League Two football now for the Reds and some big decisions for John Coleman to make in the coming weeks.
Coleman changed his team for the final day encounter, bringing teenager and Accrington-born Connor O’Brien into the side, with the absence of Mitch Clark, for his full league debut.
Seamus Conneely, Dan Martin and Matt Lowe were also missing from the Stanley squad.
Oxford opened the scoring on eight minutes when, after the Reds survived a penalty appeal a minute earlier, Billy Bodin burst through and slotted past Lukas Jensen.
The Burnley loan keeper denied Marcus Browne from a tight angle and United were dominating the chances in the opening exchanges.
Stanley lost two defenders to injury in the first 27 minutes with Doug Tharme and Michael Nottingham both hobbling off.
Jensen’s legs kept out a Kyle Joseph effort and then he pushed another Joseph strike away.
Just before the break Nathan Butler-Oyedeji had a great chance to level for Stanley when he latched onto a short back pass but Simon Eastwood denied him.
After the interval, Ethan Hamilton and Browne both fired wide from free kicks.
Coleman made a triple substitution on 62 minutes as they looked to get back in the game with Jack Nolan, Shaun Whalley and Adedoyin entering the fray.
With his first action on 64 minutes, Adedoyin got the ball outside the area, cut inside and rifled the ball into the net for his fourth goal of the campaign.
Sam Long and Elliott Moore both had good headers in the area for United but couldn’t find the target while Jensen denied Josh Murphy from long range.
Stanley then secured the points when a Nolan ball in was flicked on by Whalley and Pressley was there to head home his eighth goal of the campaign from close range.
The Reds fans and players were able to celebrate a win despite their relegation being confirmed – and they will be hoping there will be more League One action for Stanley in the 2024/5 campaign.
Stanley: Jensen, Nottingham (Quirk), Tharme (Longelo), Rodgers, O’Brien, Coyle, Hamilton, McConville (Nolan), Mancini (Adedoyin), Butler-Oyedeji (Whalley), Pressley
Subs: Savin, Patrick
Attendance: 10, 499
Yellow: Coyle, Hamilton
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