A bit of tension before the kick off.....

Incoming!! Warren Beattie fires in from long range. 2-1

Are you filming me?
 

[Right] Keeper Steve Hodgson had a torrid time
sandwiched between Andy Bell
and the Cod Army

{Below} The final whistle - and the Cods go mental!

Fleetwood Town took their UniBond Premier League second spot to Leek Town on Tuesday night and turned it into a first place Championship position. Fate is firmly Town’s hand and three points at home to 13^th placed Frickley Athletic on Saturday will be rewarded with promotion to the Blue Square North league.

The home side applied themselves in the early minutes and both Ricky Mercer and Shaun Gray needed to be alert to prevent an early surprise. Mercer was then only able to slice a James Walshaw effort out for a corner on six minutes. The Fleetwood number 5 redeemed himself a minute later with an effective header to clear a Colin Daniels threat. Michael Brown put together a clever move on 13 minutes when he put Steve Foster through. However, Foster fired straight at Steve Hodgson in the Leek goal. Brown was immediately in the thick of things again when his chip was handled by Walshaw, only for Jamie Milligan to put the resulting free-kick wide. Nathan Pond headed a second ball clear at the mid-way point and rescued an uncharacteristic mistake by Fleetwood’s Phil Robinson. It wasn’t too much against the run of play when Leek took the lead on 23 minutes. Wayne Johnson headed to the right of Danny Hurst to break the deadlock and put the home side in front. Robinson went on to make another important interception on 30 minutes to keep the home side at bay. Town were making hard work of the first half when Alex Taylor collided with an advertising hoarding and Warren Beattie replaced him on 33 minutes. Beattie immediately showed his hunger after being sidelined with a fractured cheek since the start of March. Town started to take the initiative and levelled on 38 minutes through Steve Foster. The striker met a Shaun Beeley clearance and slotted home past the right of Hodgson. Danny Hurst landed heavily shortly before half time and provided a brief scare. Substitute Beattie ensured Town went into the break with their heads high with a superb strike just into added time. He collected Milligan’s corner and struck into the top corner from 25 yards out.

Fleetwood came out into the second period with a firm determination to keep their lead and looking to collect another three points on the road. Leek, however, soon showed their intention of looking for an equaliser to help their survival chances. A slight nervous element was sensed in the visitors but Town showed character to defend well whenever Leek went forward. Danny Hurst was in confident form and took control of his area. He dominated incoming crosses and his safe hands took the sting out of the home attack. The best chance for increasing Town’s lead came from a Milligan free kick but Hodgson needed to be at his best to tip over. Another strong chance came mid-way through the half when Matt Johnston appeared to handball on the edge of the box. Andy Bell was put through but was denied by Johnson, who raised a hand to deflect the ball out of the striker’s path. Referee Burton showed the Leek defender a yellow card but the resulting free kick came to nothing.

Fleetwood took the top spot for the first time this season following their second place occupancy since November. Three points at home against Frickley Athletic will ensure promotion to the Blue Square North league.

Leek Town fought bravely and were unlucky not to pick up the point they were more than worth when Championship-chasing Fleetwood stole the points at Harrison Park last night. It was clear from the start that Fleetwood intended getting the ball forward at every opportunity employing the long ball tactic whilst Leek were at their best passing the ball along the deck.

Fleetwood were the first to show in the 4th minute when Steve Hodgson dropped a cross and the ball was worked out to Jamie Milligan who drove a shot wide from 25yards. Three minutes later Colin Daniel went down the left and left Shaun Bealey for dead before crossing onto the six-yard box where Richard Mercer almost sliced the ball into his own net. In the 8th minute Alex Taylor’s shot from just outside the box was well covered by Hodgson whilst at the other end Wayne Johnson headed over from a corner kick. In the 17th minute Steve Foster tested Hodgson but the Leek keeper was equal to the task and then Milligan curled a free kick wide as the visitors kept up the pressure.

However, Leek took the lead in the 23rd minute when Wayne Johnson rose at the far post to plant home a header from Dave Tickle’s corner kick. Fleetwood responded by netting just a minute later but the effort was ruled out by the offside flag. Leek then threw plenty of balls into the visitor’s box but Danny Hurst claimed most of what came his way. In the 30th minute Daniel split the Fleetwood defence with a ball for Jamie Walshaw to run on to but Hurst was quickly off his line to clear the danger. Leek continued to hurl the ball into the Visitor’s box but Hurst dominated before his side drew level in the 38th minute.

Milligan played the ball forward and Foster raced clear but the offside flag failed to materialise and he drilled the ball into the bottom corner. Despite this set-back, Leek continued to push forward and the visitors began to wobble but deep into time added on at the end of the half, they took the lead when Milligan’s corner was headed out only as far as substitute Warren Beattie who dipped a superb shot over the Leek defence to put his side in front.

Leek did not deserve to go in at the break behind and they battled blow for blow with the visitors as play swung from end to end in the second half. Blues called the tune for much of the second half and in the 52nd minute the ball bounced dangerously in Fleetwood’ s six-yard box but there wasn’t a Blue shirt on hand to drill the ball home. In the 57th minute Dave Tickle drove in a free kick but the ball curled wide of the defensive wall and then flew through a sea of legs wide of the far post. In the 59th minute Fleetwood came close when Milligan fired in a free kick but Hodgson tipped the ball over his crossbar and 10 minutes later the former Everton man curled another free kick wide of the near post. Blues put a promising move together in the 65th minute when Kyle Armstrong picked out Steve Brannan wide on the right and he crossed first time to Daniel but his touch let him down and the chance was lost. In the 76th minute Nick Ward came close when his glancing header from Tickle’s free kick fell narrowly wide of the target.

Twelve minutes from time the referee cautioned visiting keeper Hurst for deliberate time-wasting as Blues looked to get back in the game but the time wasting had gone on for some considerable time before the ref took action. Again play swung from end to end and, in the 83rd minute, Brannan went down the right to cross into Daniel who should have done better than sweeping the ball inches wide of the near post. However, the Leek goal had a lucky escape a minute later when Hodgson made a mess of a clearance and Foster should have finished but he delayed his cross and Leek made the clearance. Leek threw everything forward late on winning five free kicks in quick succession plus a long throw into the Fleetwood box by Armstrong but they failed to find the target. Then, deep into added time, Leek thought they had got the breakthrough they were looking for when Brannan’s long throw bounced awkwardly in the six-yard box and a Fleetwood player handled the ball as substitute Pat McFadden was about to shoot but the referee surprisingly waived play on.

There were only a couple of games in the UniBond League Premier Division on Tuesday night – but they were both hugely significant. Leek Town, desperate for points at the bottom end of the table, entertained title-chasing Fleetwood Town at Harrison Park. Danny Hurst in the Fleetwood goal was kept busy and made a number of fine saves to keep the desperate hosts at bay, although he couldn't prevent Wayne Johnson from putting Leek ahead after 23 minutes.

With even eleventh-placed Ashton United not safe going into the final week of the season, Leek were looking for three vital points that would have put them safe. However, Steve Foster equalised on 38 minutes and Warren Beattie made it 2-0 right on the stroke of half time – and that eventually proved to be the winner for Fleetwood – with just Frickley Athletic at home to play on Saturday and a one-point lead over lon-time leaders Witton Albion.

On-loan striker Jason Bradley was the match-winning hero for Buxton on when his hat trick put the club into the play-offs against Frickley.
Bradley's double strike, plus one for Neil Ross, ensured that the vital three points were wrapped up early in the match and the visitors were further hampered with the red card for midfielder Jon Broome. Bradley completed his hat trick on 64 minutes.
 

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