For a footballer who doesn't like taking penalties, Billy Kee certainly knows how to tuck them away.
The striker fired home his fifth penalty of the season – the top penalty taker in Sky Bet League One – at Sunderland last night as Stanley drew 2-2.
It was Kee's 11th goal of the season and finally signalled Stanley's first league goal of 2019.The Reds took the lead through Kee on 30 minutes before QPR loanee Paul Smyth, who was fouled for the spot kick, headed home the second on 52 minutes.
Sunderland then scored two in seven minutes to draw level and the game could have gone either way.
“I don't like penalties, I score them but I don't like them," said the 28-year-old. "I am a nervous person, I get bad anxiety as everyone knows and I did feel the pressure but I don't do anything fancy and I hit it and I usually score.
“I have felt the pressure the last few weeks as we haven't been scoring and I am always the one they look to, to score goals and I have got to take that on the shoulders sometimes.
“I stepped up and put it away and it meant we got back to scoring ways and that's been the aim of the last few weeks. It's nice to do that.”
Stanley were breathtaking, especially in the first half, in front of a crowd of nearly 30,000 and live on Sky TV.
“It was a very good first half, we started really well, the game plan was working, we were on top and the lads were brilliant," continued Kee.
“We went 2-0 up and if we could have seen it out for five or 10 minutes we probably would have gone on to win the game.
“They scored and then the crowd got behind them and they chucked everything at us and they got the second.
“There was still 25 minutes left and what was great for me and the team is we didn't buckle, in front of a big crowd.
“We haven't been the best of late but we have scored a couple of goals and not many teams will come here and score two, they are unbeaten at home.
“They are a big club and I think we did ourselves proud and we should have won the game but before the game we would have taken a 2-2 draw.”
Kee has words of praise for his strike partner Smyth, a January loan signing, who got off the mark for Stanley.“Paul has come into the team, he hasn't played many games this year and has run his socks off,” said Kee.
“He got the peno for us, he got his goal and he deserved the Man of the Match for me. Having someone like Paul keeps everyone on their toes.
“Paul was excellent, we are both Northern Irish. You never know we might both get a call-up!”
And now, with four home games on the bounce starting on Tuesday against Oxford, Kee is up for the fight.
“2019 has been hard for everybody but we have got to keep digging in. We are Accy, we are a small club and we will always be that, but we will always have big fighting spirit.
“We have four massive home games now and we have to take it to every team who comes to our stadium and make it a fortress.”