Fleetwood Town played out a competitive tie with Barnsley in League One action at a wet and blustery Highbury Stadium today, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.
A first-half wonder goal from Bosun Lawal cancelled out Sam Cosgrove’s earlier header before Herbie Kane restored Barnsley’s lead in the second half to earn the away side all three points.
It was the Cod Army who were first to trouble the opposition goal through Carl Johnston’s deflected effort before Ronan Coughlan’s lofted through ball presented Ryan Graydon with a good opportunity to score but he could only fire straight at Roberts, which set the tone for Town’s early signs of intent.
After a promising start, the Cods soon had defensive work to do when Kane was first tested Jay Lynch from distance. Following that chance, it would ultimately be the away side who dealt the first blow, when Cosgrove was on hand to expertly direct his header into the far corner following a Jordan Williams cross.
Despite going a goal behind, an excellent response saw Charlie Adam’s side create a number of dangerous chances. The closest of which came when Promise Omochere got down low to head Brendan Wiredu’s cross narrowly wide of the post before Ben Heneghan was denied by a spectacular save from Roberts from close range.
Minutes later, a key moment in the game arrived when Omochere went down in the penalty area after turning past his marker, but the referee was uninterested in the appeals - the wait continues for Fleetwood’s first penalty of the season.
After an impressive start to the game, the Cod Army’s pressure was finally rewarded when Lawal unleashed a rocket into the top corner from distance to lift all inside Highbury Stadium, as the score remained level heading into half-time.
The first of the second-half action saw Omochere go down again in the penalty area with nothing given before Coughlan could not squeeze his effort underneath Roberts after driving inside the box.
After a cagey second-half battle, the host regained the lead after a dangerous break which saw Adam Phillips square the ball to Kane who applied the finishing touch just into the corner just before the hour mark.
With work now to do once again, Charlie Adam looked towards three substitutes to make the difference to a game that had admittedly endured a much quieter second half than it did in the first - bringing on Jayden Stockley before later introducing Junior Quitirna and Phoenix Patterson to the game.
But with the teams now battling through tough weather conditions, chances were now few and far between. A final change for Fleetwood saw Shaun Rooney brought into the action, as Lynch was forced into a good save to deny Phillips from range.
With the clocking now ticking, Adam’s side continued the search for an equaliser with a rasping strike from Kilkenny that sailed narrowly over, but they were ultimately left empty-handed as the scoreline remained 1-2 at the end of the five additional minutes.
Town XI: Lynch (GK), Johnston (Quitirna 75’), Wiredu (C), Lawal, Campbell, Kilkenny, Broom (Rooney 83’), Heneghan, Graydon (Patterson 75’), Omochere (Stockley 63’), Coughlan.
Subs not used: McMullan (GK), Stockley, Mayor, Samuels.
Tykes XI: Roberts (GK), Williams (C), de Gevigney, Cadden, Kane, Cosgrove (McAtee 72’), McCart (Pines 60’), Phillips, Earl, Cole (Marsh 86’), Connell.
Subs not used: Killip (GK), Pines, Grant, Cotter, O’Keeffe.