Charlie Adam praised Fleetwood’s “complete” performance as they claimed a 2-0 win at home to Northampton.
The victory – only a second in their last 13 games – keeps the Cod Army’s Sky Bet League One survival hopes just about alive, though they remain six points adrift of the safety zone with just three games left to play.
Boss Adam was clearly proud of what he also described as the best he had seen from his team since replacing Lee Johnson at the turn of the year.
“It was a complete performance from us today so I have to be delighted with that,” Adam said. “Right from the start of the game we were at it.
“We maintained a good shape throughout and we were well organised against a good Northampton team.
“Maybe two goals wasn’t enough – I definitely think we should have had more as we were so dominant.
“I’m just happy to take the three points.
“I always felt in control after the first 30 minutes when we just blew them away.
“This leaves us with three games now, and we need more clean sheets like this if we’re to have a chance of staying up.
“We can celebrate a brilliant win tonight but then straight away we have to re-focus on another huge game on Tuesday night.
“We’ve got to go to one of the best teams and toughest grounds in the league in Peterborough, but we have to go there with confidence now.”
Fleetwood were in control at half-time thanks to goals from Promise Omochere and Bosun Lawal.
Cobblers manager Jon Brady made a triple change at the interval and his side improved after the restart.
Ben Fox and Marc Leonard created decent opportunities but they rarely threatened a consolation goal.
Brady was disappointed with the outcome, and said: “I’ve already told the players that I’m not prepared to let the season just fade away because of the position we’re in.
“But fair play to Fleetwood today. They came out with all guns blazing and in the bad conditions here, we found it difficult to get out.
“I think it’s fair to say they out-fought us in the opening 20 or 30 minutes and they have got some really good players, despite their position in the table.
“We’ve conceded two poor goals, though. They came about due to our own doing, it was sloppy from us.
“It was quite difficult and they played the conditions well – we didn’t.
“It was as simple as that really. We overplayed things too much and with them getting the two goals quite early, we faced an uphill battle.
“We just didn’t do the basics right far too often. We didn’t get the ball forward quick enough or often enough.”
Shakhtar CEO expecting big move for Sudakov
Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergey Palkin believes Giorgi Sudakov will go onto big things if he can produce more stand-out performances in the Champions League.
The 22-year-old is thought to be one of the rising stars in European football, having helped Shakhtar to the Ukrainian Premier League in the last two seasons.
He was also one of the standout players of Ukraine's Euro 2024 campaign, creating the third-most chances (four) and having the most shots (nine), though he failed to hit the back of the net as they exited in the group stage.
With the start of their next Champions League campaign just around the corner – they kick off against Bologna on Wednesday – Palkin is expecting big things from the young midfielder.
Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Palkin said: "Everybody knows about Sudakov.
"I believe he is the new European star. Half a year ago, we had negotiations with Napoli. They proposed €40million. But we believe that he costs much more.
"Therefore, we believe that in this Champions League, he will show his best. Because he has the dream to play in a top-ranked European club.
"If he shows good football, I believe he will jump to this club".
Martinez: Duran can be 'the best in the world'
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez believes match-winner Jhon Duran can be “one of the best strikers in the world” after he scored a 30-yard screamer against Everton.
Duran completed Aston Villa’s comeback in a 3-2 win against Everton at Villa Park, having been two goals down to the visitors after 27 minutes.
The Colombian was subbed on after 69 minutes and scored just seven minutes later. All three of his goals this season have been winners from the bench, meaning he has now scored the most winners as a substitute in a Premier League season ever.
Having witnessed his decisive impact today, Martinez believes he can be one of the best in the game.
"I have seen it from behind and I saw the ball moving - it was unstoppable,” the Argentine told Sky Sports, referencing his goal.
"It was a great strike. We have been trying to help Duran in the Premier League and if he can keep the consistency, he can be a really big threat.
"He can be one of the best strikers in the world, but he needs to keep his feet on the ground and to work hard. He has one of the top strikers [Ollie Watkins] in England playing in front of him."
His fellow striker Ollie Watkins scored a brace to bring Villa level against Everton prior to Duran’s strike.
It was the first time he had scored for the club since April 2024, though he had clearly been getting in the right positions. Before his first goal of the game, he had the highest xG total (1.58) in the league among those yet to score.
Watkins had a shortened pre-season after starring for England at Euro 2024.
“There’s such a quick turnaround from the Euros. A lot of the boys are getting back up to fitness,” Watkins told Sky Sports.
“I’m not at 100%. I took some time off during the international break. I don’t want to miss too many matches, though.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t get the hat-trick. I should be coming off with the match ball, but I’ll settle for the two.
“We were obviously unlucky against Arsenal. We’re delighted we got [the win] today. Now we focus on the Champions League, which everyone is looking forward to.”
Alonso pleased to pass Hoffenheim test after Leipzig defeat
Xabi Alonso believes Bayer Leverkusen passed their challenge to bounce back from defeat with flying colours after their 4-1 victory at Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Victor Boniface scored twice and set up Martin Terrier, with Florian Wirtz adding the other after Mergim Berisha had pulled one back for the hosts.
It was an important win for last season's domestic double-winners as they recovered from their loss to RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga before the international break.
"It was an important test for us to not concede a second goal after going 2-0 up," said Alonso, whose team had taken a two-goal lead at home against Leipzig before eventually losing 3-2.
"We reacted well and this time we controlled the game better and were more stable until the end. We know we will get our chances if we are patient and that is what we have to patiently work towards."
Leverkusen's defeat by Leipzig was their first in the Bundesliga in over a year (462 days) after winning last year's title undefeated.
However, they proved a threat on Saturday, having 20 shots, getting eight of those on target, while accumulating 3.62 expected goals.
"We were ready today to show our highest level," said Alonso. "We were serious and very professional.
"Hoffenheim made it difficult for us in the 10 minutes before the break but we came back after half-time to show sufficient energy."
Leverkusen, who have six points from three games, kick off their Champions League campaign on Thursday at Feyenoord.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
