James Beattie struck his first goal in three years as Accrington swept aside Lancashire neighbours Fleetwood.

After Youl Mawene fouled Romuald Boco in the area, Beattie converted the penalty to score for the first time in 54 matches.

George Miller doubled the lead from close range, and Boco scored a similar effort to make it 3-0 after the break.

Jamie McGuire fired in for the hosts, but defeat means they miss the opportunity to go into the top three.


Fleetwood Town manager Micky Mellon told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"I'm shocked to be honest, but I've got to take responsibility. Most of my players couldn't pass the football and, as the manager, my job is to get them to pass the football.

"Defensively, we were all over the place. I've not seen anything like that for a long time.

"Again, as the manager, I'm supposed to coach them their defensive duties and obviously I haven't communicated that with them properly."

Accrington manager Leam Richardson told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"To win 3-1 at a place like Fleetwood shows that the lads have conducted themselves fantastically. Not only did we win, but we played some very good football.

"I'm pleased with all aspects of our game because the home team will put you under pressure, and when they did, we coped with it very well.

"We took our chances at the right times and we thoroughly deserved to win."
