Fleetwood’s defending impresses boss Pete Wild in opening day away success

Fleetwood manager Pete Wild praised his side’s defensive display after a 2-0 win over newly-promoted Barnet in Sky Bet League Two.

Barnet dominated possession but Will Davies put Fleetwood ahead in the 22nd minute, pouncing on a mistake from keeper Owen Evans to slot into an empty net.

Club captain Elliot Bonds sealed the win five minutes after the break, firing home a rebound.

Wild said: “It was a proper League Two away performance. We had to be good in both boxes – that’s what this league is all about. We’ve been in it for four years and know what it takes to win away.

“Sometimes we won’t have the ball, so we need to stay solid and take our chances when they come.”

Wild praised his team’s pressing and Davies’ composure, adding. “Their keeper made a few mistakes and didn’t get away with them – we were on the front foot and worked on that press.”

On the second goal, he said: “The first 15 minutes after half-time is always tough. Getting that goal when we did was very pleasing. I’ve been saying all week to our players that everybody has to chip in with goals.

“Last season, if games ended in the 88th minute, we’d have 17 more points. The subs used their experience well to see the game out and that ruthless edge was probably missing across pre-season when we’ve not scored enough goals for the chances we created.”

Barnet manager Dean Brennan had no overriding emotions leading his side into their first EFL game in seven years but was left disappointed by the manner of the defeat.

“It’s just another game. I’m not caught up in the emotions or what we achieved in the past – that’s history,” said Brennan.

“We lost a game I wanted us to win. We didn’t hit the standards we’ve set, especially over the last couple of years. Our unbeaten home record is gone.

“There were some OK phases but we weren’t good enough around the box. Some players went off-script and looked nervous, despite handling big games in the past.”

On Danny Collinge’s ruled-out goal, he added: “Offside or not, I haven’t seen it back, a breakthrough would’ve been nice.

“I said yesterday the first goal would be huge, given how Fleetwood would set up. They managed the game better than us in both boxes.

“The first goal came from poor goalkeeping. We were in control, had plenty of box entries, but then gave the ball away – it was kamikaze.

“The message to the players is clear: we can’t perform like that. If we keep replicating those performances, we’ll lose a lot of games in this league.”