Manager delighted with the Cod Army's performance
Graham Alexander couldn’t contain his delight as Fleetwood Town came from behind to beat Notts County and move up to eighth position in League One.Garry Thompson had given the Magpies an early lead with a fine finish into the top corner, before Liam McAlinden scored his second goal since returning to the Club on-loan.
It was David Ball who notched the game’s winner midway through the second half as he finished from close range after some great work from Nick Haughton.
Town were dealt a blow when Stephen Crainey received his second yellow card of the afternoon on 70 minutes, but Alexander’s men held on for a vital three points.
He said: “I’m ecstatic because I thought the lads were superb. We fell behind to a goal against the run of play and it was going to be interesting to see how we responded.
“We had to up the tempo a little bit and play on the front foot which I thought we did. We scored two really well worked goals against a tough team to play against.
“They’ve got a lot of quality in there and are very dogged, but we’re really pleased because it’s a big three points for us today.
“Our strikers have gone through a hard time here and we don’t shy away from that, but we do have good forwards who work hard and listen.
“I think in the end you get your results from that and this is a start for them going into the final third of the season.”
Alexander was delighted with the character shown by his players as they held on impressively after Crainey’s dismissal.
“For any team to be successful you need to have many aspects to your game, but you also have to a fire in your belly to turn things around if they’re going against you.
“We showed that today and when things went against us in the second half we had to show the other side of the game.
“It’s about showing as much heart, energy and commitment as possible, and that’s what my lads showed in the last 20-25 minutes.”
The game was a special occasion for right back Conor McLaughlin who made his 100th appearance for Town.
“We know how good Conor is and when’s he on the front foot and aggressive I don’t think there’s many better right backs in League One than him.
“There were a lot of good performances out there today but it’s great that Conor’s got to the 100 mark and we’d like him to get to the 200 mark for us.”
And the manager paid special tribute to the Cod Army supporters, who he believes helped the team get over the line.
“The fans were superb, especially when we went down to 10 men. They took it up a notch and responded to how committed the players were.
“They probably felt hard done by like us, but the noise they created today definitely spurred the players on and the only way to be successful is when everybody’s together.”