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Accrington Stanley boss John Doolan has praised Everton loan star Billy Crellin for his outstanding performance in the FA Cup and hailed the goalkeeper for his strong mentality.
Everton sanctioned a season-long loan move for Crellin to Accrington in the summer and he has been a key player in Doolan’s starting line-up this season.
At the weekend, in the FA Cup against Swindon Town, Crellin saved three penalties, the first of which came in the second half to deny Harry Smith from making the score 2-1 and later he made two more saves in the penalty shootout to inspire Accrington to a victory.
Doolan stated that the Everton loanee was outstanding against Swindon Town and added that he could not be more proud of Crellin after his display in the FA Cup.
He also pointed out that the Toffees star has a strong mentality, which he has displayed in the previous game and admitted that his effort helped them to progress in the next round.
“Oh, he is just mentally tough, mentally strong to do what obviously happened and everyone was talking about the punch at Wimbledon [on 19th November], if you like.
“To do what he has done today was just outstanding, so we could not be more proud of Billy as well as his performance”, Doolan told Accrington Stanley TV.
“In terms of him being there, you can say he has to make saves; that is what he is there for, but at the end of the day, he did make saves and he has got us into the next round of the cup.”
Crellin’s heroics have helped Accrington to reach the third round of the FA Cup, where they are set to face Everton’s rivals Liverpool at Anfield.