Fleetwood Town manager Pete Wild revealed that his squad had been hit by illness in the build to their 3-0 defeat at Chesterfield, as reported by the Derbyshire Times.
Wild also believed the scoreline did not offer a true reflection of the match.
Injury & Illness Hamper Preparation
The former Barrow boss revealed that his side’s build-up to this contest with playoff hopefuls Chesterfield was disrupted by illness to one of his most consistent performers Brendan Wiredu. Wiredu’s absence was compounded when two further players, James Bolton and Phoenix Patterson, declared they were unavailable.
“We spent this week planning for a 3-5-2 but then on Thursday, we got told that Brendan Wiredu was injured and would be out for the season. Brendan had done all the tactical work.”
“James Bolton then had a sore back so we could not bring him in. The physio then got a text off Phoenix Patterson at 1 am this morning saying he is ill. We have had illness all around the camp, I have not been well, I have not been great with it.”
“So we changed to a four (at the back) because of personnel. All those things chucked into a pot, I don’t think they have given it a bad crack today.”
A Game Of Moments
Despite the 3-0 scoreline, Wild does not agree with the assessment that this was a comfortable afternoon for the Spireites.
“It is moments in games.”
“They have had four moments and scored three. We have had two moments and not scored any. There is not a lot gone on in the match. The two teams cancelled each other out in the first half.”
“The first goal breaks the deadlock. They then have more enthusiasm than they had had. Then they score from a set piece – I have seen Ash Palmer score many of them over the years – and then we did not defend a cross for the third.”
Writer’s View
Chesterfield may have dominated possession, but Wild’s claims of there not being much between the teams is backed up by the statistics that show just six shots on target in the whole match, three for each side.
The fact that the game was decided by moments will be no consolation to the travelling Cod Army who have seen their side concede seven goals in their last two outings.
