HARD WORK PAYING OFF FOR BARTON
FLEETWOOD boss Joey Barton reckons plenty of hard work on the training pitch is paying dividends after his side saw off play-off rivals Portsmouth.
The hosts triumphed thanks to Callum Connolly’s early strike, which sealed a fifth straight win. Town leapfrogged Pompey in the table, and back into the top six.
“Obviously I’m delighted with this win,” said Barton. “There’s a lot of hard work been going in from a lot of people at this football club, so it’s really pleasing to start seeing this pay off now with results and performances.
“We’ve knocked over arguably to two in-form sides in the division over the past week.
“I think Portsmouth had won 11 out of 12 ahead of today and they were flying.
“They’re a really good side, and they’re going to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. We knew it was going to be a testing game.
“We were worried last night that the game wouldn’t go ahead when we heard about all the rain and the wind, but we wanted the game on.
“Thankfully we got it on and the lads have just got on and done exactly what they’ve been doing, credit to them.”
The hosts struck the winner in the 12th minute when Danny Andrew drilled in a deflected cross which popped up for Connolly to head home from close range.
Pompey almost evened it up soon after when Ronan Curtis’s free-kick from the tightest of angles swirled in and struck the crossbar.
Town’s leading scorer Paddy Madden tested Alex Bass on the hour mark after playing a smart one-two with Andrew, while at the other end Sean Raggett’s effort was headed off the line by Lewie Coyle.
Sub Josh Morris twice went close to adding a second for Fleetwood late on, but the hosts held on.
Pompey boss Kenny Jackett held his hands up after the game. “I feel I have to take the responsibility for that defeat,” he said. “We do have to defend better at the start of games.
“We just weren’t quite sharp enough for some reason. I can’t work it out, but we weren’t our normal selves, in difficult conditions it has to be said.
“Credit to Fleetwood, they got their goal early on and probably deserved to be in front at half-time.
“We dominated the second half, though. Again, however, we couldn’t find those shots on target you need. It was really tough out there for us to find those moments we know we’re capable of. It proved to be a hard day for us to find a way through a resolute Fleetwood team.
“It wasn’t our best performance of the season by any stretch of the imagination.”