Barry's reaction to 5-1 loss against PNE
Barry Nicholson insisted that the Cod Army’s development squad need to have the belief to make the correct decisions, even if the game is not going in their favour.Fleetwood Town were on the wrong end of a 5-1 score line against a strong Preston North End side on Tuesday afternoon, with the Lilywhites giving a run out to a number of senior players.
The likes of Paul Gallagher, Daniel Johnson, Stevie May and Tom Clarke, to name just a few, faced Nicholson’s men in wet conditions at Preston’s training base.
Striker Jamille Matt hit the net for Town at the start of the second half, a well worked goal which pleased Nicholson but overall he felt Fleetwood gave their opponents too much respect.
“There were a few decent individual performances but obviously it was a disappointing result and a hard one to take,” said Nicholson.
“The big lesson is if we find ourselves a couple of goals down we still have to have that belief to do the right things.
“I thought once we lost the goals and we went 3-1 down, I thought we gave Preston far too much respect to be honest.
“We sat off Preston. We had a decent spell during the game when we scored to make it 2-1. It was a great goal from Jamille Matt and an excellent delivery from Matty Williams.
“Once we conceded the third goal we dropped off and made it too easy for them. In these types of games you can afford to go and press the ball and have a bit more character.
“These types of games are better when we are playing against a stronger opposition. We have to see where the younger players are at both physically and mentally against senior players.
“It definitely gives us a gauge of where our players are at.”
The development squad will next be in action on Tuesday 24th November at Aston Villa.