FLEETWOOD, Lancs, October 12, 2008

Chorley Reserves 2-0 Town Reserves
Lancit Haulage League
Friday 10th Oct, 7:45pm
By Steve Edwards

Despite how well Fleetwood played on Wednesday against Workington, by comparison this was as a pooper performance as I have seen from the Reserves. I would go as far to say it was by some distance the worst Fleetwood Town Reserve team performance EVER!

Words quite fail me but I will try to describe the incompetence shown by the side, I am sure it will make uncomfortable reading for some. Why we turned up last night I don’t quite understand. Although we had played on Wednesday fatigue cannot be used as an excuse as nine changes were made to the starting eleven. Chorley, without taking away anything away from undoubted spirit, was a poor side that should have been beaten with ease.

I felt the key was Fleetwood’s midfield quartet of Steve Birks, Klye Webster, Danny Eden and Anthony Warwick. Birks has not played for some considerable time and it showed as he tried in vain to help his younger partners. Eden, for his entire endeavour, lacks any real guile to create any danger to the opposition. Then we come to two of the side’s great enigmas, Warwick and Webster. Both with undoubted skill, Webster has been the biggest disappointment of the season. Any more performances like this and his days at Fleetwood must be numbered if not already gone. As for Warwick, he works extremely hard but for all his craft there is little end product from open play. He had produced some excellent dead ball deliveries in the first half and Town should of done better with them.

Although Fleetwood were poor they controlled the first half and despite the odd breakaway Chorley never really threatened. The best chance of the half fell to Jason Rawcliffe who shot tamely into the hands of the keeper when clean through on goal.

Town started the second half with more vigour but still seemed strangely out of sorts as they went about looking for the first goal. That first goal however came from Chorley, and in bizarre circumstances. From a long clearance Mark Smith jogged out of his goal to retrieve the ball. He then proceeded to dribble the ball back into his penalty area only to fall over the ball and present a gift to the astonished Chorley forwards much to the embarrassment of Smith. Straight after another opportunity was missed by Rawcliffe, this time a header from a Warwick cross.

More comical defending between Smith and Marek Basag allowed Chorley to double their score as they looked at one another while the home forward crept in between them to score. There was still time for Fleetwood to get something out of the game but when Andy Moran missed from close range any lingering hope had gone. To be fair to the front two of Moran and Rawcliffe they worked very hard but in terms of service, slim pickings to say the least. From a defensive point of view, once they had got to grips with the Chorley front two after fifteen minutes or so they were quite solid and if Mark Smith had not a rush of blood I could not see them scoring.

I don’t want to belittle Chorley, s display in any way, they were effective and worked very hard for one another, but with the side Fleetwood put out they should have been blown away. This was Fleetwood’s first loss in ten so it is certainly not a disaster in terms of League challenges but some of the performances were quite shocking and the management will be looking for a significant response from those lucky enough to be given another chance at Salford on Wednesday night.

Team -Mark Smith, Olly Kelly, Adam Sumner, Marek Basag (Michael Tallentire 80), Stuart Danson, Kyle Webster (Stuart Harris 65), Steve Birks (Tom Wilson 70,Danny Eden, Anthony Warwick, Jason Rawcliffe, Andy Moran