Reaction from Barry Nicholson and Stephen Crainey
Fleetwood Town fell to a 3-1 defeat on penalties to Rochdale in the Lancashire Senior Cup after the game had finished 1-1 on 90 minutes.Town dominated the first half and created a number of goal scoring opportunities at the home of Radcliffe Borough with Ashley Hunter hitting the post.
However, the hosts went one goal to the good courtesy of an own goal. But Town valiantly hit back and scored a deserved equaliser with quarter of an hour to go through Mamadou Djabi.
To game went straight to penalties and unfortunately for Town they could only convert one spot kick, Max Cartwright the scorer, as the Greater Manchester outfit progressed through to the next round.
Following the game, development coach Barry Nicholson told the Club website: “The boys are gutted. It was obviously a competitive fixture which we wanted to win.
“The result is not the be all and end all at this level though, as it's the development that's more important.
“It's always nice win games so to lose on penalties was gutting. Overall though I was really pleased.
“In the first half if we'd taken a little bit more care in front of goal then we could have been two or three up. We didn't play as well in the second half and they probably played a little bit better than us.”
First team defender Stephen Crainey, who played 70 minutes of the game added: “It was nice to play with the lads and I thought they put a great shift in.
“It was a difficult surface at times but every credit to the boys. The disappointing thing is that we're out.
“I've not played a game in three or four weeks, so it was nice to get some minutes and top the fitness up.
The development squad will be next in action next Tuesday against Aston Villa.