Richardson seals it for Stanley

The midfielder's left-footed volley killed off a late comeback by a lacklustre Cheltenham who had equalised through top scorer Wes Thomas in the 83rd minute.

Terry Gornell fired the visitors ahead in the 39th minute with a close-range effort through the legs of goalkeeper Scott Brown.

His eighth goal of the season stemmed from good play down the right by Jimmy Ryan and Charlie Barnett who combined to tee up Gornell. Accrington had signalled their attacking intentions right from the off when Ryan attempted to score straight from the kick off, his ambitious strike just off target.

Cheltenham created little but grabbed a lifeline with a brilliant turn and strike from Thomas who bagged his 13th goal of the season. He came close to a winner a minute later with a looping header just wide as keeper Ian Dunbavin floundered.

In the first half Stanley were twice denied goals by last ditch Cheltenham defending with Danny Andrew and JJ Melligan blocking Kevin Long and Andy Proctor's goalbound efforts.

Source: PA

Source: PA