ACCRINGTON Stanley treated their supporters to an amazing goal feast to create a new club record - and on another afternoon it could have been more.
The Reds broke their record number of goals scored in a game, set in April 1976 when they beat Ashton Town 9-0 in the Lancashire Combination.
And they also inflicted Lincoln United's record highest defeat after a remarkable display which included a stunning four-goal salvo from ace marksman Gary Williams.
The goal rout began after four minutes with arguably the best goal of the day. A magical four-man move involving Jay Flannery, Steve Carragher, John Coleman and Gary Williams, ended with Williams scoring from close range past Lincoln keeper Mario Ziccardi.
Ziccardi was called into action again on 11 minutes when Mark Brennan picked out Coleman with a pinpoint pass but the player-boss's shot was well saved. Amazingly, Lincoln drew level on 14 minutes when Danny Lynn caught the Stanley defence napping and chipped the ball over the advancing Jamie Speare.
But Stanley continued to play some delightful stuff and on 19 minutes a 50-yard pass by Steve Hollis found Carragher wide on the right and his cross to the far post was met by Coleman's flying header which was just wide.
It came as no surprise when Stanley regained the lead on 24 minutes. Speare launched a huge kick down field which Williams ran on to and struck an unstoppable shot past Ziccardi.
Two minutes later Williams turned provider, setting up Mark Howard who blasted the ball into the roof of the net for his first goal of the season. Williams was denied his hat trick on 28 minutes as Brett Baxter's cross was met by Williams' diving header but Ziccardi again saved.
The goal blitz continued three minutes after the break as Mark Shirley floated over a corner which was met by Jonathan Smith who headed in the fourth.
And two minutes later, a good ball by Baxter put Shirley clear and, as Ziccardi came out of his goal, the former Morecambe man magnificently executed the perfect chip.
Baxter was also the provider of Stanley's sixth, teeing-up Williams who sped past a demoralised Lincoln defence to strike a thunderbolt beyond Ziccardi to complete his hat trick. Substitute Mark Ceraolo scored the Reds' seventh on 68 minutes, heading home from close range after Carragher's corner had been flicked on by Smith. Ceraolo could have completed a hat trick as he was twice denied goals by Ziccardi in as many minutes.
But in the 77th-minute, Williams became the first player to score four goals in a league game for Stanley since Steve Parry in December 1987, latching on to a through ball to net his 11th goal in 14 games.
Still the Reds swarmed forward and it became nine on 84 minutes, as substitute Russell Payne headed in at the third attempt.
And with the Stanley supporters baying for a tenth record breaking goal, it duly arrived in the 90th minute, Hollis finishing off the rout to set a new club record.
Coleman described the Reds' performance as the best he had ever seen in 20 years involved in non-League football.
And the 376 others privileged enough to see this wouldn't disagree.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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