Fleetwood survive onslaught

Ten-man Fleetwood clung on to keep their play-off hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Notts County.

Fleetwood dominated the early possession, but were hit by a sucker-punch 10 minutes in when they failed to properly clear a free-kick and Gary Thompson found space to send a piledriver past Fleetwood goalkeeper Chris Maxwell to hand the visitors the lead. The visitors could have had a second when Maxwell spilled the ball inside his box and Thompson scrambling to fire goalwards, but former County midfielder Jeff Hughes and Conor McLaughlin got in vital blocks to spare the goalkeeper's blushes. Fleetwood needed to hit back quickly and did so with 25 minutes gone. Nick Haughton did well to pick out the run of Antoni Sarcevic and the midfielder broke to the byline and sent a low cross into the box for Liam McAlinden to tap home the equaliser. McAlinden could have grabbed a second when he was set free by Haughton, but a vital challenge from Sean Newton prevented him from pulling the trigger. A superb bit of individual skill from Haughton, which took him to the byline, saw the youngster pull the ball back for David Ball to finish. But the home side were reduced to 10 men when Stephen Crainey slid in on Curtis Thompson to collect a second yellow card and ensure the last 20 minutes were a siege. Thompson could have claimed a second for County, but was denied by a superb save from Maxwell as the home side buckled under pressure. Visiting substitute Shaun Harrod went even closer when he turned to hammer a shot straight at Fleetwood goalkeeper Maxwell and Town kept their nerve to hang on for the victory.