Fleetwood Town Reserves 3 Darwen Reserves 1
Lancit Haulage Lancashire League
28th September 2007
Goal: FTFC – Richie Allen (21 mins), Joel Cowell 2 (30, 65 mins)

Fleetwood once again dominated proceedings without really capitalising on the good chances which they created. The first half was all one way traffic and Town should really have scored more than the couple by Richard Allen and Joel Cowell which they they did convert. Allen was one of five changes to the side who had defeated Barrow four days earlier. The list of missed chances is too numerous to mention but two stick out. Mike Tallentire, normally so reliable in front of goal, totally mistimed his header from less than six yards out. This was within the first five minutes of the game. Ryan Croft missed from a similar distance but, to be fair to the fullback, it was at the end of a weaving run from his own half. Allen opened the scoring on the twenty first minute mark, via a deflection at the keeper’s front post. On thirty minutes Allen and Kyle Webster provided Joel Cowell with his first of the game, smashing the ball past the Darwen custodian.

Fleetwood were forced into two changes at the break, Chris Watkinson and Tallentire coming off injured. The reshuffle allowed Darwen to have their best spell of the game. They threw players forward looking for a life line back into the game. The pace of Anthony Warwwick , Cowell, Webster and Allen had been a problem for the Darwen defence all evening and Town constantly broke forward in search of the killer goal. It came when once again Allen and Webster combined to give Cowell a simple tap in from close range. Paul Haddow, playing his first game of the season, added to the missed chances quota with a trio of squandered goal scoring opportunities. Darwen pulled back a very late goal with a deflected effort leaving Mike Hale no chance.

It was a comfortable win for Fleetwood but, the injuries picked up will test the strength of the squad over the coming weeks. First up is Monday’s visit to Salford City and, judging by the first encounter with them, a tough game is expected.

Team: Hale, Croft, Dust (Bailley 60), Eden, Tallentire (Harris 45), Webster, Allen, Matthews, Watkinson (Haddow 45), Cowell and Warwick