Stanley captain Seamus Conneely is hoping lightning will strike twice when they travel to Premier League side Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The two teams were paired together during the draw on Monday, with the match to take place the weekend of January 28.
Accrington reached this round of the FA Cup following their 2-1 win over Luton Town in the third round on Saturday.
They have previously beaten Boro at the Riverside in cup competition, knocking them out of the EFL Cup back in 2013.
Conneely wants the team to take inspiration from that match ahead of the new clash with Boro.
“We’re very excited to get a Premier League team. The club’s been there a few years ago and Accrington won, which is good. We’re looking forward to it,” he told the club’s official website.
“We got down to the last four balls in the draw and Manchester City were still in there so we thought we might get them but we’ll take the chance to go to Middlesbrough.
“Just to be in the fourth round is exciting and hopefully we can put in a good show. We’ve won three games already to get here so to be one of the few League Two teams left in is great.”
Meanwhile manager John Coleman has insisted he is doing what is best for the club first after announcing the departures of two players.
Midfielder Chris Eagles has left after his contract finished, while defender Liam Goulding has joined Conference South side Wealdstone.
As the Observer went to print on Wednesday, it was unknown whether or not John O’Sullivan and Zak Vyner would remain at Stanley after their loan deals came to an end, but decisions were imminent.
“We have got to do what is best for the club and formulate the best squad to take us to the end of season and beyond. We have got to be fair to the players as well,” Coleman told the club’s official website.
“I will be sitting down and talking to the other players over the next few days.
“We obviously know a lot about John O’Sullivan and Zak Vyner has played a lot of football in a short space of time and he will get better.
“He has shown he has the tools to have a very good career in football. We will be talking both to the players and their parent clubs and see where that takes us.”
Coleman has already brought in Hull duo Jonathan Edwards and Harvey Rodgers on loan until the end of the season, and he plans on making more additions.
“We hope to bring one or two others in which means we may have to alter our shape slightly,” he said.
“That will happen in the next couple of weeks and we have to build a squad and focus on trying
to steadily improve too.”
The departure of Goulding sees Stanley lose a player who came through their youth ranks and captained the team that reached the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup in 2013.
He is disappointed to be leaving Accrington, but is confident that he is doing the right thing for his career.
“It’s a chance for me to play regular football. I have enjoyed my time at Wealdstone, they are a forward-thinking club and their chairman is former Accrington chairman Peter Marsden who is ambitious for the club,” he said. “The highlight for my Accrington career was the FA Youth Cup run, I was proud to be captain.
“I want to thank everyone at Accrington Stanley for helping my career progress and wish the club every success in the future.”
