Fleetwood Town narrowly lost 2-1 to Lincoln City in their second Sky Bet League One outing of the season at LNER Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A rocket of a free-kick from Danny Andrew opened the scoring on the day, with his strike from 25-yards curling in the top-right corner of Josh Griffiths’ goal, leaving the goalkeeper no chance. This was cancelled out with 20 minutes to go as Anthony Scully cut in from the left and found the top corner with his effort from close range, with the forward adding a second late on from the penalty spot.
Fleetwood had the first chance of the game inside the opening minutes when James Hill’s long throw into the penalty area was headed clear by the Lincoln defence. The loose ball was met on the volley by Tom Clarke who struck the ball cleanly, forcing a diving save out of goalkeeper Joshua Griffiths.
Soon after, Ged Garner tried to fire his side into the lead. However, his low effort from 20 yards was comfortable for the goalkeeper who was able to hold the shot.
Town were proving to be the dominant side in the early stages and had another chance to break the deadlock on the 16-minute mark. Jay Matete’s pass was flicked into the feet of the Shayden Morris by Garner, but the winger’s strike was pushed behind by the outstretched arm of Griffiths.
The hosts managed their first effort of the game when Anthony Scully picked out Tom Hopper with a through ball who found himself one on one with Alex Cairns. However, the Fleetwood stopper stood up tall and saved the forward’s effort with ease.
A defensive mix-up saw the Garner almost put Fleetwood ahead. He latched onto a loose ball into the area before striking a shot towards the goal but saw his effort sting the gloves of the goalkeeper.
Danny Andrew fired the visitors into the lead just after the half-hour mark courtesy of a 25-yard free-kick. His stunning left-footed effort curled into the top right corner past the helpless Griffiths to give his side a well-deserved lead.
Minutes later, Jordan Rossiter saw his optimistic long-range effort parried away from goal before Cohen Bramall’s free-kick flew past the far post at the other end of the pitch.
Just before the break, almost identical efforts from Liam Bridcutt and Bramall saw the hosts come close to finding an equalizer. However, after cutting inside from the left, on both occasions, the ball couldn’t find the right side of the post.
The hosts pushed for an equalizer early in the second half down the right-hand side of the field. For a second it looked like they had created an opening when Lasse Sorenson found space in the box, but a last-ditch challenge from Garner prevented the shot.
The game lacked chances for the next 15 minutes with most of the play taking place in the middle of the park. The next chance came when Garner came close to doubling his side’s lead when he unleashed an effort from range, however, his shot sailed just wide of the post.
In the 69th minute, the hosts found a breakthrough and levelled up the score. Tayo Edun played the ball the left flank finding Anthony Scully who drove inside and found the back of the net.
With five minutes to go, Edun ran into the Fleetwood box, only for Hill to mistime his tackle, forcing the referee to award the penalty. Scully stepped up and, even though Cairns dived the right way, he couldn’t keep it out the net.
Town XI: Cairns (GK), Halliday, Andrew, Clarke, Morton, Rossiter (C), Garner (Pilkington 85’), Matete (Biggins 74’), Morris (Batty 74’), Hill, Clark.
Unused subs: Crellin (GK), Camps, Edmondson, Holgate.
Lincoln XI: Griffiths (GK), Poole, Melbourne, Jackson, Edun, Hopper, Scully, Bramall (Adelakun 46’), McGrandles, Sorenson (Bishop 60’), Bridcutt (C).
Unused subs: Long (GK), Montsma, Jones, Longdon, Fiorini.
Attendance: 8241 (103 away)