A first goal since his return to Stanley from Billy Kee gave the Reds three points on the road at Bristol Rovers.
The substitute’s second half overhead kick was enough to hand John Coleman’s men all three points at the Memorial Stadium.
An unchanged side picked up where they had left off at Portsmouth with a solid and organised start in which they gave little away and created half chances.
Defender Tom Davies saw an early shot blocked as the Reds looked to make the breakthrough before Sean McConville fired into the side netting.
The Pirates took 42 minutes to create a clear opening, with midfielder Ollie Clarke flicking a Chris Lines corner on at the near post only for Jason Mooney to stand firm and save.
Before the break the visitors had a penalty appeal turned down when Matt Crooks threaded Terry Gornell in and he felt he was being held but referee Kevin Johnson was unmoved.
After the restart the Pirates crafted the first chance but a header from Ellis Harrison was easily taken by Mooney.
It took the introduction of Kee for Stanley to take a chance; he arrived for Windass in the 65th minute and gave the Reds the lead three minutes later.
The home defence failed to deal with Adam Buxton’s corner and with the ball in the air inside the six yard box the striker reacted with an improvised and acrobatic volley to beat Nicholls and make it 1-0.
A 6000 strong crowd urged Rovers to respond but Matty Pearson was equal to sub Billy Bodin with a super block inside the box before Mooney dived to his left to save a fine free kick from Lines and put the ball behind for corner.
Now the counter attack was a huge threat to the hosts and the Reds could have doubled their lead when sub Shay McCartan broke from the half way line into the area and forced a save from Nicholls before deep into stoppage time the same player found Mingoia who didn’t mark his 100th appearance with a goal but squared for Crooks who hit his shot wide.
Ultimately it didn’t matter as Stanley played out the added time to pick up back to back clean sheets and a first away win of the season.
Stanley: Mooney, Pearson, Davies, Winnard, Buxton, Conneely (Procter), Crooks, Mingoia, McConville (McCartan), Windass (Kee), Gornell
