Steven Gillespie reflected on the heavy midweek defeat to now-second placed Port Vale, admitting that it could have ended 5-5.
By Mike McGoughSteven Gillespie reflected on the heavy midweek defeat to now-second placed Port Vale, admitting that it could have ended 5-5.
Gillespie, who netted his first goal in Town colours from the spot, was disappointed with the result but said the team will learn from the 5-2 loss. Fleetwood had many chances to score in the game but a stubborn Vale defence made it difficult for the Town attack to get near the net, many of the chances coming from distance, with the woodwork being rattled twice.
He said: “We’ve had a lot of chances out there; it was a strange type of game. We’ll look back at it probably in a later part in the week and see where it went wrong, but the immediate feelings are that it could have ended up five all. There were chances at both ends and I think they made some great defensive blocks at times but it hasn’t gone our way today. But we’ll just dust ourselves off and go out again on Saturday.”
Fleetwood, who had only conceded two goals in the league so far, were stunned by the opposition attack as they found themselves trailing 0-2 just after the half an hour mark. The defeat has given the Cod Army a sense of what this league is really about. The Valiants, a side who indicate they could be in the mix come the end of the season, gave Town a reality check after a terrific start to the campaign.
Gillespie added: “They are a very good club and they’ve counter attacked very well and the wingers have really hurt us today and obviously the big man up front scored his goal as well. But this is where we want to be, in the Football League and playing against these sides to test ourselves. We’re going to think about it and hopefully we’ll be better for it and we’ll take it into Saturday.”
Gillespie, who signed from Colchester in the summer, got off the mark at Highbury with a penalty in the second half after coming on as a substitution.
“It was good to get that first one but I’d have to thanks Mangs (Andy Mangan) for giving me the penalty. On a normal day he’d step up and put that away, which I’m sure he will with the next one. But thankfully he gave me it and fortunately I put it away so I’ve just got to come on and try and impress and push for that starting place.
“We have got a good squad here and you’ve got to bide your time and work hard. You can’t get too disappointed when you don’t start, because the lads have been scoring four goals every weekend so you’ve not really have a leg to stand on whena result like this comes along. I have tried, but as I said you’ve got to keep your head down and work hard and hopefully it’ll pay off.”
The former Cheltenham striker will be hoping to gain a starting place after some impressive appearances from the bench, and he looked ahead to Saturday’s trip to Bristol- an area he knows well after spending time at Rovers’ bitter rivals City.
He said: “They are a very big club, I know alot about Bristol Rovers from being at Bristol City for a couple of years and they are a massive club that shouldn’t be anywhere near the bottom of the table. They are a side with a massive fan base and it’ll be a tough game. I’ve played there before and it’s a tough place to go. We want to be playing against good sides though, and hopefully we’ll get the three points.”
