Accrington Stanley’s John Coleman rues defeat by Derby: ‘Never in a million years did we deserve to lose’

Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman said he was ‘sick’ over the performance of referee Jon Moss during his side’s 1-0 defeat to Derby County on Saturday but later apologised for his outburst

John Coleman was fuming after Accrington Stanley's defeat to Derby (Getty)

The FA Cup may not provide the same glory as it once did for the teams at the top, but for clubs lower down the pyramid, the potential riches on offer can be lifechanging.

It was that context which left Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman ‘sick’ over the performance of referee Jon Moss during his side’s 1-0 defeat to Derby County on Saturday.

The decision to send off midfielder Dan Barlaser for two bookings and then the award of a free-kick, which would eventually lead to Martyn Waghorn’s winning goal were the calls that really stuck in Coleman’s throat and could have cost Stanley crucial revenue, as well as a possible place in the last-16 for the first time in the club’s history.

If they had won, they would have pocketed £180,000, as well as the strong chance of being shown on live television in the next round generating another £250,000. That might seem like peanuts to the Premier League but to Accrington, trying to compete in League One on gates of just over 2,000, it could have made a huge difference to their future prospects.

Instead Coleman will see the names of Derby and League One teams AFC Wimbledon, Doncaster, Shrewsbury and Portsmouth in tonight’s fifth round draw, but not theirs.

“Derby will probably get Manchester United away now, the plum draw,” rued Coleman. “It will be frustrating watching the fifth round pan out, and it will be frustrating watching the replays because that is the least we should have had. I’m not saying we should have won the game but never in a million years did we deserve to lose it.

“It would have made a bigger difference to us than it will make to Derby. Their wages for a month would be ours for a year, comfortably. What they can afford to spend won’t make a difference with the prize money and the TV money.

“For us, if we had won today it would have made a big difference to my budget for next season and would have had a bigger impact on what I could do next year and what we could do as a club in League One.”

Derby players celebrate Martyn Waghorn's winner (Action Images)

Coleman subsequently issued an apology to Moss via the Acrrington Stanley website, saying in a statement: "It wasn't the fault of Jon Moss that we lost the game. I shouldn't be balming him for it and I want to apologise."

Frank Lampard won the FA Cup four times as a player and knew his Derby team avoided a banana skin in front of a record crowd of 5,397 at the Wham Stadium. Progress to the fifth round means they will be playing catch-up in the Championship with some of their promotion rivals, but his attitude to the cup remains refreshingly old school.

“I remember growing up when FA Cup final day was the highlight of the season,” he said. “The Premier League and Champions League have grown at an incredible rate and priorities lie elsewhere sometimes.

“If it has been diluted slightly, we accept that but for me, it is still a magical tournament and games like this show that. One team attempting to be a giantkiller and the other attempting to put up with different conditions. I enjoyed being a part of it.”