Second placed Fleetwood needed three points from this match to maintain pressure on top spot Witton Albion and keep a distance from the chasing pack.  It is also vital games in hand over Witton are converted into valuable points. Home-side Marine also looked  for a win this evening to keep their play-off challenge a realistic hope.  Marine started the evening two places and four points outside the top five in the league. Two late goals against Ossett Town at Highbury Stadium on Saturday ensured the visitor’s went into tonight’s game with a 3-1 victory under their belt.  Marine lost 1-0 at the weekend following an early penalty when they visited Worksop Town

Fleetwood took charge of the first 30 minutes with a string of chances in front of Andy Ralph’s home goal.  Andy Bell and Phil Denney combined early with a promising move and Jamie Milligan spurned the first of a number of opportunities at goal.  Milligan’s free-kick after fifteen minutes was headed away comfortably by Ian Latham in the home back line. Pressure on the home goal continued immediately with a Denney strike dipping over the bar. Marine were forced to make three changes from Saturday’s line-up at Worksop.  Andy Ralph continued in the home goal but looked far from being 100% fit.  Ralph needed to rely on Latham and Freddie Potter combining to take his free-kicks through the game.

Marine’s first real chance was on 25 minutes when Shaun Tuck met a cross from the left.  His resulting weak attempt was firmly dealt with by Danny Hurst in the Fleetwood goal.  Phil Denney and Nathan Pond then linked-up in the opposition box and Pond’s overhead kick inched over the Marine bar.  The Fleetwood keeper then comfortably saved a close effort from Marine’s Lee Parle. On the half-hour mark, two successive incidents combined to shape the rest of the game.  One of the assistants alerted referee Mark Heywood to an off the ball incident involving Fleetwood captain Phil Robinson and Marine’s Peter Cumiskey.  The Marine forward was shown a straight red card and Robinson was cautioned.  To make matters worse for the home side, Marine’s Paul Woolcott verbally challenged the same assistant and received a straight red for foul and abusive language.

This left Fleetwood in a strong position and vocal support increased from the travelling fans. A Denney header in the last five minutes of the half went just wide, landing in the side netting.  A goal-line clearance then stopped nine man Marine and the last chance of the half went to the Town’s Andy Bell.  Ralph, in the home goal, blocked Bell’s header to keep the half-time score at 0-0.

The second-half started in good fashion for Fleetwood.  Pond headed home on 48 minutes after he beat the Marine defence to win a Milligan ball into the box. Fleetwood then failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and wasted a host of chances during the remainder of the second period.  The home keeper was rarely troubled and Ralph only needed to make one real save, diving to his right to deny Andy Bell midway through the second half. Jamie Milligan summed up Town’s frustration when he shot wide from a long-range effort in the closing minutes.

If Fleetwood took all three points, Marine certainly took away the admiration of any neutrals in the crowd of 238. Their good team spirit and resolve continued to prevent Fleetwood increasing their goal tally. Indeed, the advantage in numbers made Fleetwood appear spoilt for choice and unable to decide which ball to play at times. Overall, an unimpressive Fleetwood display in front of nine men.  However, any performance at this stage of the season which gains three points will be considered a job well done.

Marine went into this game knowing that a win was required to keep alive their fading hopes of reaching the play-offs. However, those hopes were all but extinguished following two moments of madness.

Having made three enforced changes from the Worksop game due to injury, the Mariners endured a quiet opening to the game, and it was Fleetwood who had most of the early play. Striker Phil Denney had two shots from distance which failed to trouble Andy Ralph, and Jamie Milligan wasted the first of a series of chances which fell his way as he shot wide.

The Mariners' first opportunity came in the 24th minute as Peter Cumiskey crossed to the back post, but under pressure from the Fleetwood defence Shaun Tuck could only mis-hit a shot which was comfortably collected by Danny Hurst in the visitors' goal. Phil Denney's flick-on in the penalty area was then sent over the home crossbar by Nathan Pond's attempted overhead kick, before another Cumiskey cross was volleyed back into the danger area by Brookfield where Parle's near-post touch failed to find a way past Hurst.

The game-defining moments came in the 31st minute, as an off-the-ball incident involving Cumiskey and Fleetwood skipper Robinson culminated in the Marine striker being shown a red card, with Robinson merely receiving a yellow for his part in proceedings. The Mariners' troubles were compounded as Paul Woolcott then remonstrated with the assistant, and referee Mr. Heywood applied the letter of the law in sending off the Marine youngster for apparent foul and abusive language.

This left Fleetwood firmly in the ascendency with Denney missing another good chance when he headed into the side-netting. It was the home side who spurned the best chance of the half however shortly before the interval as Lee Parle did well to turn his man in the box before drilling the ball low past Hurst. Unfortunately for the Mariners the Fleetwood defence managed to block Parle's shot on the line and scramble the ball to safety. The visitors immediately launched a counter attack, ending with Andy Ralph somehow blocking with his feet to keep out Andy Bell's back-post header.

Fleetwood took the lead three minutes into the second half, as a ball floated to the back post by Milligan saw Nathan Pond outjump the Marine defence to crash a header in off the underside of the bar. Despite their numerical advantage, Fleetwood failed to kill off the Mariners who showed great resolve, energy, and application toward their mountainous task. Whilst the visitors had most of the play as expected, they proved wasteful in front of goal, with Milligan's shooting from distance particularly woeful. Indeed the only save Andy Ralph had to make in the second half came in the 64th as he produced a fine diving save to turn away Bell's effort.

The Mariners did almost manage the most unlikely of equalisers in the last ten minutes as firstly Brookfield's clever turn in the box resulted in a shot which was blocked by the visting defence. A neat one-two then saw Ian Latham's low centre scrambled over his own crossbar by Shaun Gray, but ultimately despite the remaining nine Mariners running themselves into the ground for the cause, it was Fleetwood who secured an important if unimpressive win.

Warren Beattie suffered a fractured cheek bone in a first half collision and was substituted at half time.
 

Fleetwood Town moved to within eight points of UniBond League Premier Division leaders Witton Albion with two games in hand after a narrow victory at Marine on Tuesday night. The Mariners were looking to boost their own play-off hopes, but were beaten when Nathan Pond scored the only goal of the game at Rossett Park just three minutes into the second half.

Buxton could have gone third had they beaten struggling North Ferriby United at Silverlands. However, in the end, goals from Russell Fry seven minutes after half time and Nathan Hotte a minute from the end of normal time, condemned the Bucks to defeat and move Ferriby four points from third-bottom Ashton United.

Guiseley missed out on the opportunity to move into the top five when they were held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Frickley Athletic at Nethermoor. Frickley looked like they had won it when Lee Morris popped up with an 86th minute opener, only for Aaron Wilford to grab a stoppage time equaliser for the home side.

Guiseley are now a point behing fifth-placed Eastwood Town but have two games in hand, whilst Frickley extended their unbeaten run to eight games with this point, but are still only two points in front of the drop zone.

A big game in terms of the bottom end of the table saw Whitby Town let a two-goal lead slip twice at Harrison Park against Leek Town. Goals from Steve Tobin and Matty Appleby after ten and 13 minutes respectively gave Whitby the advantage before the home side pulled back just before half time through top scorer Louis Briscoe. Danny Brunskill then struck to extend Whitby`s lead again after 62 minutes, but Leek bounced back again to eventually draw level with goals from Briscoe again on 72 minutes and new signing Jamie Walshaw eight minutes from time.
 

FleetwoodTownFC.com || Match Archives 07/08