Fleetwood Town were one of the lucky teams to be handed a 'bye' for the first round of this competition but onl;y just scraped through in Round 2. They hosted Shrewsbury Town on 6 October, with the scores locked at 1-1 and heading straight to a penalty shoot-out, Bobby Grant's goal a minute into stoppage time was enough to seal a very late victory.
The Cod Army's life in the FA Cup was very much short-lived after they were eliminated at the first hurdle by League One leaders Walsall by two goals to nil at the Banks Stadium.
Goals form George Evans and substitute Anthony Forde eased Walsall past struggling Fleetwood with a 2-0 FA Cup win at the Banks's Stadium But it was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, because the Cod Army dominated the second half and came close to equalizing several times before Forde hit the second for the Saddlers in stoppage time. Fleetwood were first to threaten when Puskas Award nominee David Ball crossed into the box but Paul Downing managed to clear, and as the Saddlers hit back Nathan Pound did well to block a shot from Milan Lalkovic.
But Walsall took the lead in the 19th minute when, after good work by Lalkovic and Romaine Sawyers, midfielder Evans, on loan from Manchester City, notched his third goal since joining the club with a fierce low drive from 25 yards. With Jimmy Ryan outstanding in midfield, Fleetwood kept pushing forward but home keeper Neil Etheridge smothered a drive from Conor McLaughlin, then the same player whipped a cross into the box but no-one could finish it off.
In the second half Fleetwood were unlucky not to equalize several times, Jamile Matt shooting inches wide on 83 minutes and Evans clearing off the line from Antoni Sercevic, but Forde made sure for Walsall with a blistering cross-shot after cutting in from the left.
Reds boss Steven Pressley has maanged just two wins during is (to-date) six games in charge, starting with a home defeat to former club Coventry City on 10 October. There only victories during his reign have come against Burton Albion (4-0) at home and at Barnsley (1-0). They will be without Danny Andrew (groin) through injury, whilst Victor Nirennold is unlikely to feature. However former Blade Stephen Jordan may be given a run out.
Club captain Nathan Pond, who made his 400th appearance in a red shirt last Saturday, believes his side must be more confident at home if they are to succeed in both league and cup. He told fleetwoodtownfc.com; “We’ve got to be confident against whoever we play at home. It’s going to be difficult as they’re a good side but the conditions may play a part in the game. “It’s the same for both sides though so it’s no excuse, and it’s often whoever deals with the conditions best go on to win the game. “I’m still lacking a bit of match sharpness myself but that will come with more games. Hopefully I’ll get many more this season.
“The fact you’re only two games away from Wembley with a win on Tuesday is going to be in the back of everyone’s minds. “It was very disappointing to go out of the cup on Saturday as we all wanted to get to the second round as we haven’t been there for a while. “We had five or six good opportunities to score and if we had scored then I think we probably would have gone on to win the game.”
Competition Rules
Under competition rules each club must include in its starting line-up at least six of the eleven players who started the Club fixture immediately preceding or following the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie (against Worcester City (h) and Southend United (h)). Alternatively, a Club must include in its starting line-up at least six of the eleven players who have made the most starting appearances in League and domestic cup competitions during the season so far. Meanwhile, there is guaranteed no extra-time, should the scores be level at 90 minutes, the game will go straight to a penalty shoot-out.
| Football League Trophy Fixtures |
| Northern Area Quarter-Final |
| Wigan Athletic vs. Blackpool |
| Rochdale vs. Morecambe |
| Fleetwood Town vs. Sheffield United |
| Barnsley vs. York City |
| Southern Area Quarter-Final |
| Dagenham & Redbridge vs. Oxford United |
| Gillingham vs. Yeovil Town |
| Southend United vs. Bristol Rovers |
| Plymouth Argyle vs. Millwall |
Blades-Mad Prediction: Fleetwood Town 0 Sheffield United 1
