Fleetwood Town’s Under 18s started off their Youth Alliance season with a 3-1 win over Morecambe at Poolfoot Farm on Saturday morning.
Overall, a decent performance from the team with goals coming from Enoch Takpe, Ben Thompson and Cian Hayes on the day – which saw Simon Wiles’ side come out on top in the league opener against The Shrimps.
The first chance of the game fell to Fleetwood as Collins drove down the right-wing, running at the defenders, before crossing the ball into a packed box, but no one was able to get on the end of it.
Hayes was lively again in this match as he managed to create a few chances in the first half, linking up with batch well on the left wing. The full-back made the game challenging for him, but he was still able to create gilt-edged chances for his side.
Morecambe took the lead soon after as they won the ball back from a Town throw-in. The forward ran at the defence and place the ball in the bottom corner of Eastham’s goal.
Two minutes later, Fleetwood levelled up the score line as Bird picked up the ball from a throw-in, drove at the Morecambe defence, and found Takpe in the box, who rolled his man and smashed the ball home – making the game 1-1.
Town had a chance to give Fleetwood the lead just before the half as Bird received the ball on the move and fired at goal from an angle, which forced the goalkeeper into a fantastic save.
The Cod Army came out the blocks the better side in the second half and took the lead after 55 minutes. Thompson, who advanced into a more attacking role, received the ball on the edge of the box and struck the ball into the back of the net.
Town extended their lead late on as they latched onto a poor clearance from the Morecambe defence. Collins intercepted the ball and squared it to Hayes inside the box, who made the game 3-1.
Fleetwood finished the game well, creating even more chances against The Shrimps through Takpe bringing others into the play, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The Under 18s are back in action on Saturday 19 September, as they are set to travel to the North West to take on Carlisle United in another Youth Alliance fixture.
The best performers on the day were Sam Bird, Billy Batch and Connor Eastham. Bird and Batch showed a variety of passing throughout the game, especially when they played in the forwards on multiple occasions. The goalkeeper, Eastham, played with confidence, even after conceding a goal.
Town XI: Eastham (GK), Bird, Batch, Thompson, Patterson, Barrett, Collins, Raffie, Takpe, Sithole, Hayes.