Nathan Pond was delighted to see his team progress to the third round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, as they emphatically saw off holders Crewe Alexandra.
David Ball got the Cod Army on their way as he curled home from the edge of the area after forty minutes, while Jon Parkin quickly doubled the lead before the break.
Pond himself then got on the scoresheet to score his 49th career goal for the Lancashire side a minute after the restart, before substitute Matty Blair put the game beyond doubt with twenty minutes to go.
This was Fleetwood’s second League 1 scalp of the competition, having seen of the challenge off Tranmere Rovers in the previous round.
Man of the match, Pond, said: “We always knew it was going to be a difficult game as they’re the holders of the competition and a good passing side, so we’re all delighted with the result”.
The central defender, who scored Town’s third of the evening, was pleased to have netted in front of the Cod Army faithful. “I haven’t scored for a while so that was nice. The assistant manager (Chris Lucketti) has been getting on my back a bit about it so that’s why I went over to celebrate when I scored!”
Having come away from the West Country with all three points last Saturday afternoon, Graham Alexander made six changes to his side.
“We haven’t got the biggest squad but we’ve got a very competitive one, so some of the lads who haven’t been playing came in and did a great job”, added Pond.
With Saturday’s home game against Chesterfield on the horizon, Alexander will now have a selection dilemma ahead of the big game.
“There’s 19 good players here so when someone comes in, the side doesn’t weaken and this is why we all have to be on our toes in training to try and nail down a first team place”.
Looking ahead to the encounter against the Spireites, Pond is relishing the opportunity to take on the table toppers.
“They have a strong squad with some high-profile names, but hopefully we’ll do things right on Saturday to get the victory and go top.
The camp is always in confident mood and we back our ability as we’ve got some great players in that changing room, but obviously we’re not going to take Chesterfield lightly as they’ve also got some good ability in their changing room. We’ve just got to do the basics right and hopefully our quality will shine through.”