Pressley’s not happy as Tykes fight back
MOST managers would have declared themselves happy with an away draw in the first leg of a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Final, but Fleetwood boss Steven Pressley wasn’t.
The Cod Army will now be slight favourites to progress to the Wembley final after securing a 1-1 draw in Yorkshire ahead of the February 2 reverse fixture, but Pressley felt his side should now have the advantage.
He said:“I suppose most people would be satisfied with a draw in an away first leg, but I feel we should have won here.We scored first and ought to have held on really.We then missed some great chances after Barnsley equalised.”
Pressley did enjoy the occasion, though, as more than 11,000 packed into Oakwell with the prospect of a dream trip to Wembley so tantalisingly close.
He added:“Forget the FA Cup, the JPT Final was the game to see.
“It was a pulsating game and a great atmosphere, and both teams showed they were fully committed to their respective causes.
“It was a great advert for the competition and I suppose the final scoreline sets the tie up perfectly ahead of the second leg now.
“There’s a huge prize at the end of it, but it’s still anybody’s game.”
Fleetwood went closest to breaking the deadlock, most notably in the 38th minute when Antoni Sarcevic stormed clear, only to fire wide.
At the other end, Ryan Williams ought to have done better when he side-footed straight at Fleetwood keeper Chris Maxwell. Fleetwood took the lead on the hour mark, with Ashley Hunter’s low cross somehow eventually squirming under a combination of keeper Adam Davies and defender Kevin Long.
However, the Tykes roared back with 16 minutes left when young Manchester United loanee Ashley Fletcher - who only came off the bench to make his debut six minutes earlier - headed home Adam Hammill's cross. Tykes boss Lee Johnson was content with the outcome as his side battled back to level matters.
He said:“I’m fine with that result. I think we played some good stuff and it’s an okay result for us as far as I'm concerned. I don’t think we did enough in the first half in terms of getting behind the Fleetwood defence, but we made a few tactical changes at half-time and it was much better in the second half.
“I was delighted for young Ashley to score on his debut. It was a great header following some excellent movement.”