ASKEY: I WAS WRONG
Fleetwood 2 Shrewsbury 1
JOHN ASKEY held his hands up and admitted he picked the wrong formation following Shrewsbury’s defeat.
Paddy Madden’s 18th-minute header after a 23-pass move and Wes Burns’ strike 10 minutes later gave the Cod Army a two-goal cushion.
That all came with Shrewsbury playing a 4-4-2, but Askey switched things up at the break, moving to a 4-3-3, and his men fought back, with Josh Laurent’s 58th-minute effort setting up a tense finish.
“I got it wrong,” said Askey. “We went 4-4-2 to start off with, although that does not excuse the lack of commitment and effort in the first 30.
“With the wind and the rain, you are not going to play pretty football.
“That was the reason for playing 4-4-2, but we didn’t do that. Once we changed to a 4-3-3 we played a different game. We were unlucky in the end, despite the poor 30 minutes, not to get a draw.”
Fleetwood manager Joey Barton said: “Wes has the ability to turn a game with a flash of absolute brilliance. The goal he scored was outstanding.
“Paddy Madden deserves a huge amount of credit for picking the weighted pass that Wes finishes. If Wes can get more consistent he can play at a higher level.”