Fleetwood Town’s Under-18s fell to a 4-2 defeat in their Youth Alliance fixture against Salford City at the weekend.

The visitors from Greater Manchester started the clash strong at Poolfoot Farm as two corners ended up finding the back of the net in the first half. The first found a player at the back post who headed home, with the second one going straight in from the corner.

Hope was restored straight after the half-time break as, from kick-off, one of the trialists on show that afternoon stormed down the right wing and played a powerful low cross all the way across to Dom Richmond, who took a touch, calmly went around his marker and struck into the top right corner of the goal.

Unfortunately, two more goals would come from Salford during the second half; the third came from a long throw, which was cleared only to the edge of the box, where one of the opposing forwards struck the ball first time past the Town keeper. Right from that kick-off, they came forwards again and made it 4-1 on the counter.

With 12 minutes to go, the young Cods pulled one back and made the score 4-2 on the afternoon as substitute Hermann Daha brilliantly plucked a long ball out of the sky and played it off to the trialist playing at left-back. He then swung a cross into the Salford area and Bosembo Namputu rose highest and nodded into the back of the net.

Even though it wasn’t the result Mark Yeates and his side would have wanted from the afternoon, they can set their sights on the next clash in their schedule as they host Bolton Wanderers at Poolfoot Farm on Saturday 22 April – kick-off to be confirmed.

Town XI: Trialist (GK), Cirino, Hoyle, Trialist, Jones, Morrison, Namputu, Glenfield (Daha 70’), Lane, Richmond (Roberts 76’), Trialist.