Manager speaks after draw with league leaders
Manager Graham Alexander felt Fleetwood Town did everything but score after they were held to a goalless draw by the Sky Bet League 2 leaders Rochdale at Highbury Stadium.
There was nothing to separate the two sides over the course of the 90 minutes and in a game of limited chances, Matty Blair and Antoni Sarcevic had Town’s two best opportunities.
Rochdale midfielder, Matt Lund, hit the foot of the post in the second half from an ambitious overhead kick, but the visitors stood firm to ensure they took a share of the spoils, and in turn, denied Fleetwood the chance to close the gap on the automatic promotion places to three points.
Speaking after the game, Alexander said: “I thought it was a game we could have won, we should of to be fair we played really well, especially in the first half and we are disappointed.
“The lads are disappointed that they haven’t won, it’s a point gained and we have to take that sort of performance into every game that we have got until the end of the season, because if we do that, we will put ourselves into a great position.
“It was two good football teams that didn’t want to give too much away; we knew that from the first game we played them at Rochdale.
“If anyone was going to win it, it was us, Rochdale were in a position where they didn’t have to go and win, considering their league position and points tally.
“I thought the players attacked the game, played football and defended every so well to keep Rochdale down to limited chances.
“We have to take that sort of performances into all the other games. The lads are really disappointed they haven’t won today.
“We got ourselves into some great positions where you just wanted that final ball. It is the hardest ball in football – that final bit of composure and bit of quality you need to set up a real good chance.
“We had it a couple of times, but we didn’t have the finishing touch and then we had other occasions where we worked the position really well and just didn’t have that final pass.
“There was plenty of positives from the game, but it was a game we was looking to win so we are disappointed not to.”
“Goals change games and if we had got the goal, who knows what the final score would have been, but we didn’t. We gave it everything we had to the final whistle and it was a shame we just couldn’t get it.”
With six games remaining, starting at fellow promotion chasers Oxford United on Saturday, Alexander has called on his side to reproduce the ‘endeavour and quality’ that they displayed against Rochdale to give
them the best possible chance of achieving automatic promotion.
“We can’t get ourselves up for a massive game because every game for us is massive, week in, week out,” Alexander added.
“We need that sort of endeavour and quality every week, and if we do that, then I am really confident in what our final position will be.
“It’s down to my responsibility and the players responsibility to make sure we get that every week and that’s a consistency we have been looking to get all season so we have to make sure we do that for the remaining games.”
Town are next in action at Oxford United. For ticket information regarding the game please click here