Fleetwood Town returned back to winning ways after a 4-1 victory over Burton Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Paddy Madden’s second half hat-trick was the difference between the two sides, after two goals and a disallowed goal in the first half.
Ched Evans put the Cod Army into the lead on his 50th appearance for the club, before Oliver Sarkic equalised right on the stroke of half-time.
The match - which neither side really dominated in the first half - started off with a chance for the hosts inside the first five minutes.
Danny Andrew found space to cross the ball into the box, which Kieran O’Hara punched out, only as far as Jordan Rossiter, who saw his 25-yard curling effort go just over the bar.
Whilst both sides had good spells of possession in the opening stages, there were not many clear-cut chances for either team at Highbury.
As the match reached the 15 minute mark, there was a couple of chances for the host.
After some good play in the middle of the park, Wes Burns was given space to cross the ball into the box, which deflected off a Burton man out for a corner.
Soon after Town's set-piece, there was another chance for Fleetwood to open the deadlock. With a great piece of play from Lewie Coyle, he managed to pick out Andrew, who’s volley brought out a smart stop from O’Hara.
Kyle Dempsey had a chance to open the scoring as he tried his luck from distance, but the keeper was on hand to tip it over the bar.
Then it was the visitors to have an opportunity to score. Nathan Broadhead played through Scott Fraser, who managed to strike the ball towards goal. Alex Cairns saw it all the way into his gloves.
Burton won possession back from the goal-kick, and when Lucas Akins turned the ball into the back of the net, he turned away only to see the lineman’s flag up for offside.
The away side then had a lapse of concentration, which allowed Town in to take the lead through Evans.
With good pressing from Burns, it allowed the Welshman to win the ball and find Madden, who then fired in a low cross for Evans to prod the ball home.
This opened the game up massively, and the visitors were level just before the interval. Sarkic tapped home the rebound from his own shot, which was initially saved by Cairns.
The second half started with both sides having chances. First it was Town through Coyle, who managed to cross the ball into the danger zone, however John-Joe O’Toole was on hand to clear the danger.
Town re-took the lead just past the hour mark. Madden latched onto a superb cross from Coyle as the striker fired in a volley. The tide was truly with the Cod Army.
The visitors threatened from a corner soon after though. John Brayford had a free header, but he didn’t manage to get a clear contact on the ball as it flew over Cairns’ bar.
The away side didn’t take their chances today, and that was capitalised on when Madden fired home his second goal.
Burns was again involved in the build-up as he drove a cross towards the back post, where Madden was waiting to head home and put Town 3-1 up.
Nigel Clough’s side did not give up. Lloyd Dyer managed to get into a good position inside the area, but Dempsey was quick to intercept and clear the ball away.
As the match approached the closing stages, Paul Coutts went into the referee’s book after a late challenge on Liam Boyce. This caution now means that Town's skipper will miss Wednesday’s trip to Coventry City.
Just before the 90 minute mark, Madden competed his first hat-trick for the club as he found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, calmly slotted his ninth goal of the season.
This sealed a great win for Joey Barton’s side, which will give them a lot of confidence heading into their midweek game against the Sky Blues.
Fleetwood XI: Cairns (GK), Coyle, Andrew, Souttar, Burns (Southam-Hales 83’), Dempsey (Hunter 82’), Evans (Morris 73’), Dunne, Coutts (C), Rossiter, Madden.
Unused Subs: Gilks (GK), Clarke, Sowerby, Sheron.
Burton Albion XI: O’Hara (GK), Brayford, Edwards (Sbarra 83’), Wallace, Fraser, Broadhead (Boyce 69’), Akins, Hutchinson (Dyer 40’), Sarkic, Nartey, O’Toole
Unused Subs: Garratt (GK), Daniel, Buxton, Templeton.