Billy Crellin the hero as Accrington secure shoot-out win over 10-man Swindon
Accrington secured a place in the FA Cup third round with a dramatic 4-1 penalty shoot-out win over 10-man Swindon after the game ended 2-2 after extra-time.
A red card, a saved spot-kick, a late equaliser and goalkeeper heroics in the shoot-out – the game was incident-packed.
Stanley took the lead after 17 minutes when Tyler Walton fired home from close range before Swindon’s Danny Butterworth saw red on 41 minutes for a high tackle on Liam Coyle.
The Robins levelled in the second minute of first-half added time when Harry Smith nodded the ball across the goal and Grant Hall headed home.
Swindon were awarded a penalty for a foul by Coyle on George Cox but goalkeeper Billy Crellin pushed out Smith’s spot-kick on 63 minutes.
Despite being a man down, Swindon went ahead after 70 minutes as substitute Joel Cotterill curled the ball home from the edge of the area.
However, in the first minute of added time, Nelson Khumbeni’s strike was parried by keeper Jack Bycroft and Walton pounced on the rebound.
The sides couldn’t be separated in extra-time and Crellin made two saves in the shoot-out before Khumbeni fired home the winning spot-kick.