AWAY THE GAS – FLEETWOOD TOWN
BY DARREN STOBBS
We were all looking forward to the first away game of the season at Fleetwood, and set off from The Mem at 7:35am.
It’s one of those fixtures that’s good to tick off early in the season, whilst we enjoy the 2second half of the summer.
The journey began well, but we were soon to learn that the M6 was shut just north of Stafford, so we decided to take an earlier than planned break at Hilton Park Services. We set off again just after 10.00am, but it took an incredible 4hrs 30 mins to reach Fleetwood.
Having regularly used the Supporters Club coach for 26 years, this nightmare of a journey easily came top of the list for the worst journey to get to a football match. We also learnt that one other independent coach and several other Rovers fans simply decided to turn around and head home.
On the way past Blackpool, the Red Arrows were in clear view at the local air show.
Arriving in Fleetwood at 2:35pm, we were just grateful to get there in time for kick off.
The obvious choice was to go straight into the ground, which was a shame, as Fleetwood have an excellent and very welcoming Supporters Club bar, which we have enjoyed on many occasions in the past.
I purchased a pint of lager inside the ground, which was just the job after the journey we had experienced, at £6.50p. I think the old saying of “it’s cheaper up north”, has probably long gone out the window.
It was notably cold inside the ground, as overcast conditions and the odd shower, making it feel like an autumnal November day. My friend was regretting his decision to wear shorts to the unforgiving Fylde coast!
With two changes to the Rovers lineup, I was optimistic we would to get our first points on the board, although I did say that we don’t usually get anything at Fleetwood.
Rovers began brightly and did well in the opening ten minutes, but Fleetwood soon took a grip of the game and we seemed to be chasing shadows for large parts of the first half. Fleetwood took the lead when a cross from the right was put in from close range, by striker Will Davies. He was soon to get his brace when he ran on to a pass over the top which he then lobbed over Luke Southwood to make it 2-0.
The one thing that I was enjoying at Fleetwood was the standard of their PA System, which totally embarrassed ours at The Mem. The choice of their songs was top notch with super sounds from the 90’s and clearly people in the Rovers end were enjoying that more than the first half we had to endure!
The second half was much the same until we made substitutions and in particular when Ellis Harrison took to the field. We enjoyed a lot more of the ball and possession in the Fleetwood half, but we failed to carve out any clear chances, with home goalkeeper Jay Lynch not having to make any saves to mention.
Promise Omechere was then brought down inside the box for a clear penalty. He took the resulting spot kick himself, hitting his effort straight down the middle to register our first league goal of the season against his old club.
Despite some late pressure, Fleetwood hung on for their victory, which I thought on the balance of play they deserved. However, we were our own worst enemy, with some poorly conceded goals and not getting a foothold in the game early on.
Once the second goal went in, it felt as though it was game over. This shouldn’t be the case in football, but the atmosphere in the away end suggested that we really had an uphill battle on our hands, which proved the case. My own personal opinion is that we have too many connections in the team from last season.
Whilst the mentality has certainly changed and you cannot fault much of the effort, a lot of players involved from last season are still in the squad. It’s easy to get angry, like I was, after a relegation and in particular the manner we went about it.
However, there would have only been four or five players that I would have kept and unfortunately two of them have left for a higher standard of football. I appreciate that the others want to put a wrong right, but I question whether they have the ability we need to be promotion contenders this season. I can clearly see why Darrell said, after the game, that he would like to sign four more players before the transfer window closes on 1st September.
My man of the match was Omechere, as he showed a lot of effort and when the ball was played into his feet, he caused a number of problems for Fleetwood, I also thought Jack Sparkes had a decent game.
The journey home was a much more straightforward one and we were treated with a Lancaster bomber flying overhead as it headed towards Blackpool. Leaving at 5:10pm we arrived back at The Mem at 9:40pm, with a 30 minute break at Frankley services.
I would like to thank the supporters on the coach for their patience and understanding for our seven hour journey on the way to the match, which went very well in the circumstances. I would also like to thank our driver, Rob, who had a challenging long day taking us to and from Fleetwood and it was nice to see the fans let him know this when departing the coach.
