Grant, Eastham and Ball goals earn crucial three win
Late goals from Ash Eastham and David Ball earned Fleetwood Town a vital win at Oxford.
Defender to head home a Bobby Grant cross 16 minutes from time before David Ball’s lethal finish topped a superb away performance in the dying seconds.
Grant’s fourth minute penalty had given Town an early lead before a scrappy leveller came just minutes later.
But a resolute and positive performance was rewarded as the Cod Army claimed the points.
At the start of the evening Uwe Rosler made one change to the side which lost at the weekend, with Godswill coming into the starting line-up to replace Godswill.
There was also a change of formation, with the 4-5-1 replacing the regular 3-5-2.
It was the Cod Army who started the game the brightest, managing a shot on goal within the first 90 seconds when Bobby Grant found space 25 yards out before firing just wide of the post.
Luckily Grant didn’t have long to wait to open the scoring - finding the net just three minutes later from the penalty spot.
It came at the end of another positive move for Town, with Amari’i Bell bursting into the box before being clearly hauled down. It was the perfect start for Rosler on his men.
Sadly the lead wouldn’t last long, with Oxford drawing level on eight minutes when Curtis Nelson took advantage of a lucky bounce to blast home from six yards.
After a frantic start the game settled down a little, with neither side particularly threatening in attack as the rest of the first half came and went.
At the break Fleetwood Town opted to make a change, with George Glendon coming on to replace Godswill, with McLaughlin reverting to his regular spot at right-back.
Like the first half it was Town who started the brightest after the break, with Bell forcing a save from the keeper on 52 minutes.
He guided a decent Ash Hunter cross goal wards, only for the Oxford keeper to be a match.
As the game went on it was again Fleetwood who asked all the questions, and they finally got their reward on 74 minutes.
Good play from Bell found Grant at the left-hand side of the box and his cross was brilliantly guided into the net by Ash Eastham.
It was a well deserved goal, and from an unlikely scorer, it was the defender’s first goal of the season.
And as Oxford pushed for an equaliser David Ball put the icing on Fleetwood’s cake finishing brilliantly from a Glendon pass.
It was a superb display and three vital points.
Oxford: Eastwood, Lundstram, Nelson, Sercombe, Maguire, MaAleny, Ruffels, Rothwell, Johnson, Dunkley, Carroll.
Subs: Stevens, Skarz, Martinez, Hemmings, Edwards, Ledson, Raglan.
Fleetwood: Cairns, McLaughlin, Bell, Eastham, Ball, Grant, Bolger, Hunter (Sowerby), Dempsey (Pond), Godswill (Glendon), Davies.
Subs: Urwin, Pond, Woolford, Nadesan, Sowerby, Maguire.
Att: 6728 (83 away)