Micky Mellon hailed his players after they dug in deep to beat Chesterfield on Tuesday evening and maintain third spot in npower League 2.
By Tom BestwickMicky Mellon hailed his players after they dug in deep to beat Chesterfield on Tuesday evening and maintain third spot in npower League 2.
An early Steven Gillespie finish and a late own goal from Chesterfield’s Chris Atkinson saw Fleetwood snatch victory. Town dominated the majority of the first period before the hosts pulled back on the stroke of half-time.
Mellon praised the work rate of his side:
“We weren’t happy with the way we have been passing the ball recently. To be fair to the players we have worked really hard, and we tried to get it down on a magnificent pitch and try and knock it round. If we had gone up two or three at half time I think we could have honestly have said it was a fair reflection with the chances we had.”
The second period was a more level affair as the home side built on their equaliser.
“Coming in to the second half, Chesterfield rallied as you would expect the home team to do, but we dug in and we stood firm and believed in what we were trying to do, and we believed we would get our opportunities and we got that right at the very end, we are delighted.
“I’m pleased to come to Chesterfield and get this fantastic victory in front of great support. We are delighted so many fans took the time and paid the money to come across and support us this evening. I’m sure they will have gone home very happy.”
The Town boss also highlighted the travelling fans as a big influence on the outcome of the game, and he was pleased they came in their numbers to support Fleetwood.
“We all have to stick together, we all know how big this challenge is for Fleetwood Town, we know this is our first campaign in league football and we know how hard we have to work in order to get results.
“You have seen that in the early games and the fans have got to stick with that and have rallying with us like they did tonight and they never once stopped signing, and they will know they have made a massive impact in getting this result.”
Gillespie struck his fourth goal since he signed in the summer to give Fleetwood an early lead and Mellon believes are starting to get the rewards they deserve.
“That’s why we brought him (Gillespie) to the club, because we need to be scoring goals to win games and he is doing that for us now. Bally (David Ball) was unfortunate to be left out with the shape of team we felt that would give us the best opportunity to win the game and thankfully it did.
“We all take the grief on the chin when we don’t get the results that we should achieve, but when we do I will be the first one to pat them on the back when they get the result because they deserve it.
“All we want to do is to record positive results and keep moving forwards. Like I said, for Fleetwood Town to come to Chesterfield and get the result is a fantastic effort by the lads.”
One player who missed out on the game was Curtis Obeng who was set to join Fleetwood on loan. The right-sided Swansea City player needed international clearance between the FA of Wales and the FA but the paper work was delayed somewhere within UEFA and failed to meet the 6pm deadline on Tuesday.
Obeng, who joined the Swans from Wrexham earlier this year, is now registered and eligible for selection this weekend when Town travel to Rochdale.
