Fleetwood Town put on a five-star performance against sister club Waterford FC at the RSC as they beat the Blues 5-1 on Tuesday evening.
Goals from Maleace Asamoah, Jayden Stockley, Ryan Broom, Kyle White, and Promise Omochere saw the Cods breeze past the Blues as the side continue to build up their match sharpness ahead of Saturday afternoon’s fixture against Dundee FC.
Scott Brown’s side started the game in a strong fashion as Scott Robertson earned a free-kick on the edge of the hosts’ box, which Stockley stepped up to take, but the strike from 20 yards was blocked by the wall and cleared away from danger.
Eight minutes later, the deadlock was broken, and it was new signing Asamoah who dealt the blow to the Blues as he controlled Josh Earl’s direct pass from the back well and fired his effort into the bottom left corner of the goal, beating Connor between the sticks.
After the quarter-hour mark, the chances kept coming for Fleetwood as Carl Johnston’s deep cross was just blocked, stopping it from reaching Cian Hayes at the back post before Robertson had an effort of his own inside the box which needed to be saved by the Blues ‘keeper.
It was two to the good for the Cods not long after as this time, Stockley rose highest in the Waterford packed box and nodded Robertson’s cross from the right with relative ease past Connor, making the score two-nil near the half-hour mark.
With not long to go until the half-time break, new signing Broom thought he’d get in on the act and bag the third goal of the evening. Harry Wilson played a brilliant ball through to Stockley, who lost his footing, but the new midfielder in town was there to mop up the attack as he prodded home from close range.
A whole host of changes came on the 60-minute mark but, before that happened, Broom tricked his way past two defenders and into a yard of space on the edge of the box and forced the Blues’ goalkeeper into a good low save.
The fourth goal arrives soon after that as a ball was played through to White, who worked some space inside the box and calmly slotted home to add to the Fleetwood tally and Omochere swiftly made it five to the good
A controversial decision from the referee saw the hosts pull one back with a couple of minutes to go as two balls were in play at the same time. Everyone stopped apart from three Waterford players who played their part in beating David Harrington, with everyone else still bemused by what just happened.
Town XI: Lynch (GK) (Harrington 60’), Broom (Vela 60’), Earl (Nsiala 60’), Holgate (Wiredu 60’), Johnston (Montgomery 60’), Robertson (Mayor 60’), White, Wilson, Asamoah (Omochere 60’), Stockley (Marriott 60’), Hayes (Patterson 60').