Simon Grayson was delighted to get Town’s pre-season campaign off to a winning start - although it was always more about fitness than the result.
A wonder strike from Ged Garner and a superbly directed header by Connor Teale handed the Cod Army a 2-0 win against Northern Premier League side Radcliffe Borough.
And Grayson was delighted with his side’s afternoon’s work.
“It was good to be back out there in pre-season and get two 45 minute run-outs for 23 players, said the boss. “We got everything out of the game we wanted in terms of fitness levels and played some decent stuff at times.“There were a lot of good parts to our play, the pitch was fantastic which was a real credit to the staff at Radcliffe.
“Overall it was a great afternoon all around, we now look forward to getting back in, hopefully with England as European Champions!”
Fleetwood fielded two separate elevens during each half, with a number of the club’s highly rated Development Squad also getting game time.
Grayson added: “The schedule I have is always to give two teams 45 minutes in these games. The players stayed out after the game to do extra work, it’s almost part of am extended training session for us."
Saturday’s game was the first time since March 2020 Town were able to play in front of their own fans, with around 200 making the trip to Greater Manchester.
And for the boss that was one of the highlights of the day.
“It was great to have supporters back again,” explained Grayson.
“It was a bit lively behind the goal for a pre-season match but it was just lovely to see them to be honest. Whether it’s 500 or 50,000 its great to see supporters back now. Hopefully that will continue going forward now.”
The Cod Army continue their pre-season preparations with a game against Port Vale at Poolfoot Farm on Tuesday, kick-off 1pm. A limited number of tickets remain on sale. CLICK HERE TO BUY