Stanley’s Carabao Cup hero Billy Kee admits his winning goal against Preston North End will be something he’ll never forget.

The 26-year-old scored deep into stoppage time to earn his side a 3-2 win at the Wham Stadium over their Championship rivals, with Ben Richards-Everton and Jordan Clark scoring Accrington’s other goals during the match.

It means that Stanley have now moved into the second round of the competition, and Kee was delighted to play a key role.

“It was a great moment for myself and for the team but I knew it was special for the fans so I wanted to enjoy the moment with them,” he told the club’s official website.

“To score the winning goal on a night like that is a great feeling, I don’t normally score too many in those types of games so I was happy to play my part this time.

“I never ever celebrate. All the lads have been laughing because tonight I’ve run 20-yards following the goal to celebrate!

“We’ve held our own against a Championship club, it shows just how far we’ve come to see us getting hold of the ball and playing our football against a very good Preston side.”

Stanley’s win over Preston came even though manager John Coleman made five changes to the team that defeated Colchester United during their league clash over the weekend.

Three of those changes came in defence, and Kee says that managing to get the win despite the switches just shows the quality that the team possesses.

It’s a sign of the strength of the squad we have here. We had three lads at the back making their first starts for us and they barely put a foot wrong all night,” he said.

“Tom [Dallison] and Tyler [Forbes] were outstanding at full-back and Simon [Jorgensen] in goal made some really important saves at crucial moments.

“In the midfield Scotty Brown ran himself into the ground, Liam Nolan was excellent and we had Kayden Jackson up front, he can run that boy!”

The second round draw of the competition took place on Thursday after the Observer went to print, and Kee made it perfectly clear who he was hoping to come against it.

“It’d be nice to get Blackburn and complete the set of Lancashire derby cup wins,” he said.

“In all seriousness a cup run is so important to a club like us.

“We saw last year the rewards that can come, the fans love them and tonight we’ve given them another one to be proud of.

“Now we make sure we are ready for Yeovil on Saturday, we need to keep our concentration and prepare right.”