Colby Bishop scored twice - the second a penalty - as Accrington Stanley ended Town’s unbeaten run by defeating the Blues 2-0 at the Wham Stadium. Bishop nodded the opener in the 17th minute before converting from the spot on 41 after a foul by Toto Nsiala. Both sides ended the match with 10 men after Armando Dobra and Ross Sykes were red-carded for an off-the-ball clash with 11 minutes remaining.

Town were without Flynn Downes, James Norwood, Kane Vincent-Young and James Wilson for their first ever league game against Stanley.

Downes suffered a hip injury while away with England’s U20s, Norwood underwent groin surgery early last week, Vincent-Young suffered a groin problem at Fleetwood a fortnight ago, while Wilson is suspended for one game after his red card at Highbury.

One-time Stanley centre-half Toto Nsiala came into the back three for the first time this season, Gwion Edwards was at right wing-back, Andre Dozzell in midfield and Alan Judge playing off lone striker Kayden Jackson, who was facing his old club.

The Blues’ third ex-Accrington man Janoi Donacien was among the subs, as were Will Keane, Emyr Huws and Dobra.

Ex-Accrington man Jackson hit the first shot of the game in the second minute, an effort on the turn following a neat moving involving Dozzell, Skuse and Judge which was blocked.

Rain began to fall persistently as skipper Luke Chambers required a few minutes’ treatment and a bandage after taking a blow to his right eye in a clash with Offrande Zanzala.

On eight Garbutt whipped over a freekick from the right, which Judge flicked into the side-netting at the near post.

Town defended a couple of corners and then a freekick as Accrington started to see most of the ball as the game passed the quarter-hour mark.

And in the 18th minute Stanley took the lead. Sam Finley sent over a high, looping cross from the right and Bishop was allowed to head back across Tomas Holy and into the corner of the net.

A minute after the goal Nsiala was booked for a foul on Zanzala just inside the Town half, although the Accrington man had appeared to have gone to ground very easily.

Accrington continued to look the more threatening side, particularly when crosses were put into the box with the Blues’ backline less assured than has usually been the case.

Accrington should have doubled their lead in the 27th minute when Callum Johnson sent the ball into the box and Zanzala headed well wide when he ought to at least have hit the target.

Town came within inches of getting on terms in the 32nd minute. Skuse played a clever ball to Edwards on the right, the Welshman in turn finding Jackson, who crossed into the area.

Keeper Dimitar Evtimov failed to gather low down and the ball ricocheted towards goal off Judge. However, as Garbutt looked to add the final touch, Jordan Clark was able to clear off the line.

On 37 Zanzala flicked an effort wide from a Clark cross from the right with Accrington still looking the more dangerous side. Two minutes later, Chambers blocked Sean McConville’s effort from a cross from the right, where most of the home side’s threat was coming from.

In the 41st minute Stanley went two in front from the penalty spot. Nsiala clumsily clattered into Bishop as the pair challenged aerially and referee Sebastian Stockbridge pointed straight to the spot. Bishop slammed the penalty to Holy’s right and into the net to claim his second goal of the afternoon.

Edwards was booked for a foul midway inside the Town half before referee Stockbridge brought to a close a very disappointing half for the Blues.

After making a tidy enough start, Accrington had began to frustrate the Blues in midfield, forcing them into too many long balls. The home side subsequently began to threaten more and more, particularly via crosses from the right.

Bishop appeared to be in acres of space as he headed the opener while the push from Nsiala, who had a tough return to first team football, for the penalty all but gifted the striker his second of the game.

Town needed to be significantly better in the second half if they were to maintain their undefeated record and it was no surprise that Paul Lambert made changes ahead of the restart.

Nsiala and Andre Dozzell were switched for Dobra, who was making his league debut, and Danny Rowe. The Blues moved to 4-4-1-1 with Dobra off Jackson up front and Judge on the left wing and Rowe on the right.

Dobra made an immediate impression, winning a couple of corners with his direct running and also drawing a foul from Jerome Opoku which led to a booking.

Rowe scuffed an effort wide from distance with the Blues seeing more of the ball in the Accrington half but still without looking particularly convincing.

Town just about kept an Accrington corner from the right out of their goal in the 57th minute after the ball ran loose in the box. Two minutes later, Nolan was yellow-carded for a foul.

Finley hit a powerful 25-yard effort which deflected through to Holy on 61 after Judge had given the ball away midway inside his own half, then a minute later Clark cut in from the left before shooting wide when he ought to have played a low ball into the box.

Town had the ball cleared off the line for the second time in the afternoon in the 64th minute.

Following a corner on the right, the ball was sent back in by Garbutt and with the keeper flapping reached Luke Woolfenden at the far post where the centre-half stabbed towards goal only for Clark to block it. The referee waved away Town protests that it had struck Clark’s hand or that it had crossed the line in any case.

The Blues made their final change of the afternoon in the 66th minute with Judge, who had had a quiet afternoon, replaced by Anthony Georgiou. A minute later, Stanley swapped Opoku for Aji Alese.

Dobra was booked for a foul Accrington skipper Seamus Conneely in the 72nd minute, before McConville joined him in the book for a two-footed lunge on Edwards which might have led to a red card on another day.

On 75 Accrington switched Zanzala for Dion Charles, then two minutes later Joe Pritchard took over from McConville.

In the 79th minute both teams were reduced to 10 men. Dobra and Ross Sykes clashed off the ball on halfway - Dobra appearing to swing and arm and Sykes knocked him to the ground - and referee Stockbridge sent both players off with the Town sub, who had been the Blues’ brightest player in the second half, protesting his innocence as he left the field.

With four minutes remaining of scheduled time, sub Charles cut on from the left and smashed a shot over Holy’s bar.

The home side saw out six minutes of additional time to end Town’s unbeaten run at 11 games from the start of this season plus the home victory over Leeds on the final day of the last campaign.

Aside from Woolfenden’s effort off the line - which looked a debatable decision - the Blues never really threatened and Accrington had more chances to add to their lead.

Other than a brief spell at the start of the first half, Town were never on top of the home side, who won the battle in midfield and deservedly grabbed their goals before seeing the game out in relative comfort in the second half.

Despite regular starters Downes, Norwood, Wilson and Vincent-Young having missed out, manager Lambert will have believed the team he fielded should to have been enough to beat Accrington, who are starting to emerge as a bogey side for the Blues.

The Blues' post-international break blues continue with 21 games now having passed since they beat Millwall 2-0 in September 2014, the last time they won following a gap for international fixtures.

Their record in front of the Sky cameras similarly stretches to 15 matches since a December 2015 win away against the MK Dons.

Town, whose lead at the top of the table is now one point with one game in hand, are next in action at Portman Road on Wednesday when Rotherham visit.

Accrington: Evtimov, Johnson, Hughes, Sykes, Clark, Finley, Zanzala (Charles 75), McConville (Pritchard 77), Bishop, Conneely (c), Opoku (Alese 67). Unused: Bursik, Edwards, Kaba Sharif, Carvahlo.

Town: Holy, Woolfenden, Chambers (c), Nsiala (Dobra 46), Edwards, Skuse, Dozzell (Rowe 46), Nolan, Garbutt, Judge (Georgiou 66), Jackson. Unused: Norris, Donacien, Huws, Keane. Referee: Sebastian Stockbridge (Tyne and Wear). Att: 3,567.

Photo: TWTD

Nobbysnuts added 16:49 - Oct 20 And why huws didn't start today has completely baffled me???? Strange team. Dozzell looked out of his depth. This was a game made for huws and a big target man in Keane. I'm afraid Lambert got it wrong today.
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brittaniaman added 16:57 - Oct 20 Curse of the International break and TV. again. and has somebody mentioned Games in hand do not mean points in the bag as we found out today.
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Mingochutney added 16:58 - Oct 20 Nsiala is an absolute liability everytime he plays and he continued that today, 4th choice cb by a long way. Midfield were absent today especially first half, dozzell and judge not doing enough. Why oh why do we leave huws and especially Keane on the bench the whole game. Losing 2 0 and winning nothing in the air playing 1 up front so why no appearance of Keane?
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happybeingblue added 17:11 - Oct 20 poor performance Alan judge seems way off the pace to me,nsiala looked like he was struggling after 5 minutes,and we missed young badly on the right side as he has been so influential and created so much.
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jas0999 added 17:21 - Oct 20 Shockingly bad. But we were always going to lose at some point. Shame it was on SKY and in truth completely outplayed. Thought the squad was strong, but with three key players missing, that is now somewhat debatable. We need to bounce back on a Wednesday. This was very poor.
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oldegold added 18:27 - Oct 20 We were awful simply awful. Play like this again and we will drop down the table like a stone....outclassed and nothing to offer. Seemed a repeat of last season.
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OxtonBlue added 18:31 - Oct 20 Roll on weds, not long to dwell....
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northwales_blue added 19:08 - Oct 20 I confess i only go to maybe 5 or 6 games a season and there are people on here more qualified to give their view. That said i think we simply did not turn up today. Second to the ball. All credit to them they deserved to win and treated it like a cup match. Glad to see Lambert was realistic after the game. We missed Norwood and Jackson was isolated. Surprised Keane did not play at all. Toto understandably looked off the pace. Still concerned about our keeper. My heart is in my mouth every time the ball is kicked back to him. I'm sure we will bounce back quickly

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Cakeman added 20:02 - Oct 20 Nothing to be alarmed about and I am sure just a blip in what has been a great start to the season. Stanley deserved the win today. We just didn't build up a head of steam at all. Hopefully normal service will be resumed against Rotherham and I just think it will.
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Wishing4arightback added 20:27 - Oct 20 Having just got back from Accrington I can say it was a long day and all I can say is, it's a pity that some of the players didnt put in as much effort as those of us that have done a lot of driving today! I worried when I say the line up and my concerns came true. I feel sorry for Jackson, everyone that has ever seen him plays knows hes at his best with a strike partner. He didn't stop running but when he ran the channels there was no one in the middle. Toto, just had a mare... nothing more needs to be added. Judge just runs everywhere, but with no obvious reason. If he doesn't know, how are his team mates going to use him??? Dozell, yes he is a gifted football with vision above his team mate, BUT, he is lazy! He never tracks his runner, on lots of occasions he didn't even jump off the ground for a header. Thus is Div 1, we need workers who can also play. Downes shows how he is 2 or 3 times the player that Dozzell is at this level. Andre should be allowed to leave and play where he can show off his assets, this level and the demand of the matches are not for him. Hopefully this can be done in January to prevent him from disappearing into the wilderness. One thing of note was Huws. In the cup match he had support tape on the front of his left knee, today he had support tape on the back of his right leg. I hope hes not having issues, as we could do with him Weds if Downes is not fit. Still top of the league so jot all bad!!!

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StowTractorBoy added 21:05 - Oct 20 Just home from that long trip and how disappointing the day was. Nice little ground and lovely people up there but heavens above we were dreadful. Hindsight a wonderful thing but Judge should have been sold for £650,000 - he was hopeless today. Just shows today that we do not have the squad good enough to cope with when our best 11 cannot be fielded. Have said all along Nsiala is a liability and so it proved today. Cannot understand why Lambert changed our favoured 4-4-2 system either as 3-5-2 does not work with what we have and so it proved as Accrington easily exploited our weaknesses. On to Wednesday which will present us with similar opposition who will work their socks off. Just hope this is a blip and is a lesson to us that this league is not easy.

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algarvefan added 00:09 - Oct 21 dare I say from the team selection that Lambert underestimated Accrington just a tad, on paper in the bottom 3 and the performance looked the other way around. I have said for ages that Judge was not good enough, he doesn't want to be at Town and should have been let go to QPR. I think Wednesday will be a big test for us now especially if the missing 4 are still missing. Wilson was the key man in defence and imo has been our best player this season, so hopefully he at least will be back after his one match ban. Today has been a reality check, roll on Wednesday and hopefully a better performance.

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Barty added 08:19 - Oct 21 Terrible performance [ why is it we never play well in front of the cameras ? ] - bad day all round as players were shockingly bad and PL got it so wrong with team selection & formation. Need to bounce back Wednesday with hopefully 4-4-2 formation. I appreciate that a few players were injured but why or why didn't Huws & Keane play !!!!!! - lets put this behind us and put in a good performance against Rotherham. COYB

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chalky added 08:29 - Oct 21 I'm full of admiration for what Lambert has achieved so far, but this was a wake-up call. We should never be second best to a team that was in the bottom three !! Several things for Lambert to ponder. We have rarely, if ever, played with real intensity for the whole game this season. Too many times our match summaries refer to a 'poor first half'. Second, it is now clear that we need Downes, Wilson, Norwood, and KVY fit. Without them we look less effective. Third, our midfield is too lightweight in terms of exerting and maintaining pressure on the opposition. We need to be taking games to lowly teams, not allowing them to play above themselves, as on Sunday. Fourth, please abandon this absurd one up front system. It doesn't work for us or play to our strengths. Jackson is more effective with a partner.

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GAZ1234 added 08:53 - Oct 21 Sorry Paul.... this was down to you 1. Wrong formation 2. Wrong team selection 3. Wrong substitutions, once we were in this mess My heart sank, as soon as the line up was announced!
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midastouch added 09:32 - Oct 21 I would of preferred to see Keane up top with Jackson yesterday. Jackson looked like he badly needed help yesterday. Judge hasn't scored for us in about 29 or 30 games so based on that alone I would of had Keane up top instead all day long! Judge is using all his excuses up now, i.e. return from injury and being unsettled by QPR interest. I was hoping he would be one of our star players in League One but so far he's fallen short of expectations. Still 3/4 of the season to turn his form around but it's clear some our getting frustrated by his level of performances so far. And the same is true of Dozzell. Yes he can pick a pass but sadly games seem to pass him by. Personally I'd have Downes (I know he wasn't available for selection yesterday) and even Dobra (who looked bright before his sending off) ahead of him in the pecking order now. And yesterday Huws would of been the obvious choice ahead of Dozzell. As has been said above several times, we badly need KVY, Downes, Wilson and Norwood back asap. Norwood's finishing has been off the money of late but I'd still back him to score a lot more goals than Judge. Up front it needs to be a combination of either Jackson and Norwood (when he's back) or Jackson and Keane. And if we're behind and looking in need of a goal to get us back in the game I'd rather we bring on one of our strikers on the bench (which we didn't do yesterday) than a midfielder. If you're going to make three substitutes at least make one of those Keane in a game like yesterday. Lambert has credit in the bank after having not lost a league game all season so we can't be too harsh but we all learned some harsh lessons yesterday. That is, some of our players unfortunately (at least on the showing yesterday) don't look cut out to battle it out in trenches. Let's hope we bounce back Wednesday night if not the gloss of this season will have started to peel off some.

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Razor added 10:29 - Oct 21 I think on Sunday the chickens came home to roost as I think we have been getting away with it for some time this season. Selection wrong of course and at the very least Huws and Keane should have come on at half time to try and repair the damage----just what does he see in Danny Rowe!? Tough game on Wednesday against a good team with a good manager-----no more blips pleaae!!

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