ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman hailed his side’s character after they came from 2-0 down with two minutes left to claim a draw a Stevenage on Saturday.

Stanley had never previously come away from Broadhall Way with as much as a point, having lost on three visits during their Conference days, but Terry Gornell and Andy Procter grabbed late goals to rescue the Reds.

Stanley dropped a place to 16th in League Two but a draw was a better result than Premier League side Newcastle managed at Stevenage in the FA Cup last month, and Coleman felt it was a point his side might not have had the character to secure in previous seasons.

“I think we’re seeing less of Accrington teams that maybe when it’s not their day they accept it’s not their day,” he said.

“These lads don’t accept it’s not going to be their day, they keep going right until the end. They’ve been frustrated in the past a few times but that’s another late goal we’ve scored on our travels on the back of the goal against Cheltenham.

“There’s a great character and a sense of fun about them. Graham Westley (the Stevenage manager) goes on about his team never surprising him and how they go right to the end.

“He thinks they’re very fit but we finished the game the best, we were the fitter team towards the end and that’s a testament to our lads, how much they want it and how much belief they’ve got in themselves.”

Stanley lost midfielder Jimmy Ryan to injury early in the second half and Coleman admitted it was debatable whether his team deserved a point on the balance of play.

“It was a strange game because I thought we played some really good football in the first half against the wind,” he said.

“In the second half we never got going.

“When they went 2-0 up, they’d had five-minute spell where they possibly deserved to be that.

“But it was a fantastic goal by Terry that got us back into the game and then you’ve always got a chance if you put balls into the box, and thankfully we got the goal.

“On the balance of play the way we played in the first half merited a draw, but certainly not the second.”