IN his pre-match press conference Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman suggested his current side was the most entertaining he’s put together in his time at the club.

Thrills and spills were certainly the order of the day against AFC Wimbledon but it was not quite what the boss had in mind.

A defensively threadbare Reds were beaten 4-3 by the Dons despite leading 2-0 and 3-2 in a frenetic clash at the Wham Stadium.

Stanley made the dream start, with Billy Kee opening the scoring with the first meaningful attack of the game. Sean McConville’s free kick came back off the wall but the winger lofted the ball back into the box for Kee to react quickest and slot his fourth goal of the season past Ben Wilson.

Soon that tally was five, with the striker meeting a right wing McConville free kick at the far post to head home for a quick fire brace.

At 2-0 the Reds looked comfortable, with Josh Windass driving a free kick into the wall as they looked to stretch their advantage.

But things are seldom simple for Coleman’s team and soon the visitors halved the deficit. A long throw from Jake Reeves was only partially headed clear and midfielder Dannie Bulman smashed a shot into the top right corner to make it 2-1.

The Dons had lost on all of their previous visits to the Wham Stadium but restored parity through striker Lyle Taylor, who met George Francomb’s right wing cross at the near post to sweep the ball home.

That didn’t put the Reds off as they set about restoring that lead, with McConville duly obliging in the 36th minute.

The wideman found himself in behind the visiting defence down the left, producing a finish that beat Wilson.

Once again the joy was short lived. Not content with scoring one stunning goal, Bulman added a second, latching onto Taylor’s square pass with the striker looking suspiciously offside and drilling the ball past Mooney to make it 3-3.

Coleman made a double change at the break with Dean Winnard struggling with injury and replaced by Gerardo Bruna and the experienced Andy Procter coming on for Terry Gornell.

It made little initial difference, with Taylor lashing over at one end and Windass chancing his arm at the other as both sides looked to retake the initiative.

That honour fell to Taylor and the visitors as he flicked a cross from Barry Fuller inside the box and span, arrowing a shot beyond Mooney and into the bottom corner to put Stanley behind for the first time.

Now it was Stanley’s job to respond and Piero Mingoia did his best, with a shot from the right side of the area deflected comfortably to Wilson off a defender.

With three players on a hat-trick Taylor tried to stake his claim to the match ball, fizzing a strike over the top from sub Tom Elliott’s flick.

No more goals were to follow though, despite Bruna seeing a free kick tipped over by Taylor at the death and Kee heading into the side netting.

Entertaining? Yes. Hugely frustrating? Definitely.

Stanley: Mooney, Halliday, Wright, Winnard (Proctor 45), Pearson, Mingoia, Windass, Conneely, McConville, Kee, Gornell (Bruna 45) Attendance: 1,315