ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman felt the finishing let his side down as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at fellow promotion contenders Northampton Town.

Marc Richards got his customary goal against Stanley for the Cobblers but it could easily have been a different story for the Reds, who had 22 shots on goal compared to the hosts’ six.

“It was a carbon copy of the Plymouth game,” said Coleman, recalling memories of the South Coast trip which Stanley also dominated only to lose 1-0.

“We didn’t just deserve to draw, we deserved to win as we created chance after chance and we were better than them in all departments except finishing – and they have a player like Marc Richards who can put the ball in the net.

“Billy Kee’s overall play was magnificent and the way Billy plays he’s not going to get the chances Marc Richards gets, so to compare them is difficult. The system we play is based on the three who play behind getting the chances and they all had chances.

“Their keeper was man of the match, like at Plymouth, which says it all and they have three points and we have nothing.”

Stanley failed to take advantage of Carlisle’s game being called off and therefore missed the chance to move back into the play-off places.

The Reds have seen three of their own games postponed already this term, all of them at the Wham Stadium.

While they only have one game in hand on the Cumbrians, who are one point and one place above them, they have two or three in hand on the rest of the top seven as they look to make sure they secure a play-off spot at the end of the campaign.

And Coleman is convinced his side will respond to the defeat in a positive manner.

“It’s fine margins but we can either sulk or stick our chests out and go again and I know what we will do,” he said.

“I was pleased with our appetite and there was no lack of effort, and we showed intent from the off, hitting the bar after 20 seconds. We were on the front foot but you don’t get points for looking pleasing – you have to score more goals than the opposition.

“The only consolation is that, after Plymouth, we went on an unbelievable away run and hopefully we can do that again.”