Manager speaks after 1-0 victory at Chesterfield
I am really proud of the team. That was the first sentence boss Graham Alexander said following the final whistle on Tuesday night as the Cod Army beat League Two leaders Chesterfield 1-0 at the Proact Stadium.
Backed by a strong contingency from the Fylde Coast, Fleetwood’s brave efforts unfortunately couldn’t see them reach the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final, as Chesterfield advanced 3-2 winners on aggregate.
However, Alexander could take nothing anyway from his squad, and now is focused on replicating those types of performances in the league with 16 games now remaining, starting on Saturday at Mansfield.
“I am really proud of the team; we wanted to be in the game and not give anything away in the first hour and then give it everything we have had for the last half an hour.
“That is what we did and we were probably a bit too cautious in the first half but we didn’t want to give anything away.
“We put Chesterfield on the back foot. The energy and determination showed by the lads to get something out of the game was fantastic.
“We got the goal that we deserved but maybe it came a tad late. We had a couple of opportunities ten minutes before and if we had taken them the pressure may have built.
“We have come away to the league leaders and we have beat them 1-0. It is a bitter sweet taste in the mouth because the ambition was to reach the final and we haven’t done that.
“The one thing we wanted was to win the game and that is what we have done and we just fell short but the lads can be really proud of their performance.
“We now have to take that into the league and if we do that with the undoubted quality we have got, we are a force to be reckoned with. We have to make sure we put the effort in that is the target for everyone now.
“Our fans voices were heard all night long and they showed fantastic support for the team.
“Every single player fought for the shirt and that is what the players have to do. It is fantastic to see and hopefully we will have more times like that and we will go on to success.”