Fleetwood Town Reserves 1 Quilligans 2
Pre-season Friendly
9^th August 2007
Goals: FTFC – Mark Davis

Town’s Reserves completed their pre-season build up with an encouraging performance against last season’s Sunday League double winners. The Quilligans side was packed with players who play North West Counties football, mostly with Squires Gate and Blackpool Mechanics. Fleetwood started the better with some fluid football and this set the trend for the majority of the half. The visitor’s were reduced to long range shots that were easily dealt with by Mike Hale in the Town goal. Fleetwood produced some excellent crosses that screamed across their opponents goal. Anthony Warwick was tormenting former Fleetwood full back Shaun Lawlor at every opportunity and supplied most of the crosses that eluded the home forward’s. Chris Watkinson led the line superbly for Town for all the game and another former Town player’ Paul Cook, was ‘sin-binned’ for some reckless challenges on the forward half way through the half. The half time score of 0-0 hardly did justice to the way Fleetwood had played.

The second half saw Hale replaced by Mark Smith in the Town goal and he was quickly called into action with Quilligans starting the half the better. Twice the home side were caught out with long raking passes and the third time they paid the ultimate penalty when Danny Rowe raced clear to finish with a neat chip over the advancing Smith. Town responded well and the equaliser came when Mark Davis headed in from close range. With the game delicately poised Fleetwood made the changes normally associated with a pre-season game and naturally the flow of the game was interrupted. Qulligans scored the winner in somewhat controversial circumstances when the ball appeared to go out of play. The whole of the defence stopped, including Smith. The visitors played on and easily scored from ten yards out.

Fleetwood, with the back four looking solid, but not really posing much of a threat at the other end, can still take a lot of positives from the game and can look forward to once again challenging the top sides in the Lancashire League this coming season.

FTFC Squad: Mike Hale, Mark Smith, Danny Eden, Ryan Croft, Rick Bryan, Mike Tallentire, Kyle Webster, Mark Davis, Dax Hoogerwerf, Anthony Warwick, Chris Watkinson, Adam Crossley, Kieran Rimmington, Robert Edwards, Slavek Perz and Stuart Harris Jnr