Fleetwood Town were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Rochdale at Highbury Stadium on Saturday, a result that extends their winless run in League Two to three matches. The Cod Army now sit 14th in the standings with 10 points from eight games, five points adrift of the automatic promotion places.
Rochdale seized control with two goals inside the opening quarter of an hour. Dajaune Brown opened the scoring after eight minutes, finishing from a Glenn Middleton cross. The same provider then turned scorer six minutes later, heading home to double the visitors' advantage. Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch, returning to the side after the midweek cup fixture, prevented the deficit from growing further with a key save soon after.
Matt Lawlor's side began their response and halved the deficit on the half-hour mark. Aaron Loupalo-Bi created the chance, setting up Mark Helm to score his first league goal of the season and give the home crowd hope. The momentum shifted further in Fleetwood's favour after 69 minutes when Rochdale's Tobi Adebayo-Rowling received a second yellow card for a foul on Loupalo-Bi.
Late push falls short
With a numerical advantage, Lawlor immediately introduced striker Ronan Coughlan as Town pushed for an equaliser. They created a series of opportunities but found Rochdale goalkeeper Sam Waller in defiant form. Coughlan released Lewis McCann on the right side of the area, but Waller pushed the effort wide. Ched Evans saw a shot deflected inches past the post, and Raff Cirino hit the side-netting from a difficult angle.
In the closing stages, Loupalo-Bi headed off target from a Cirino delivery, and Helm sent a late strike over the bar. Despite five minutes of added time and sustained pressure, Rochdale protected their slender lead to secure all three points. The defeat leaves Fleetwood with a recent form record of one win, one draw and three losses from their last five league outings, a run they will be desperate to improve upon.
Lawlor had named Evans alongside Aaron Loupalo-Bi in attack for this fixture, seeking a response after recent setbacks. The manager will now need to assess his squad ahead of a tough away trip to face Salford City, who are seventh, on October 3. That match will see Fleetwood aiming to end a run where they have conceded first in four of their last five league games.
Read the full report at Fleetwood Town Football Club
