Fleetwood Town 1 PNE 1
Paul Huntingtin was stretchered off as North End had to settle for a point on their first competitive visit to Fleetwood.
Daniel Johnson had given the Lilywhites the lead inside the first ten minutes, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner from 20 yards out.
However, shortly after a ten minute stoppage for Huntington’s injury on 85 minutes, substitute David Ball curled an effort off the corner of post and bar into the top corner with the home side’s first effort on target of the game to give them a point.
Manager Simon Grayson was forced into two changes, with Bailey Wright and Callum Robinson away on international duty, Jack King and Chris Humphrey coming into a 3-5-2 formation.
And the yellows flew out of the blocks and went ahead inside ten minutes.
A corner Was won by Scott Laird and Paul Gallagher’s cross was headed by Antoni Sarcevic to the edge of the ‘D’ to Daniel Johnson, who calmly curled a brilliant left foot shot back over the players in the box into the top left hand corner for his sixth goal in nine games since his move from Villa.
It was an entertaining game without real chances until the last ten minutes of the half, when Noirth End could have put the game out of site.
Firstly with 11 minutes left Scott Laird fired in a volley from the left corner of the box after a brilliantly flowing move from PNE which was blocked on the line by Nathan Pond, flicking the ball over the bar – a superb volley from Humphrey’s deep cross from the right.
Then Humphrey himself was fed by Beckford, he danced inside Adam Chicksen, but saw his shot blocked by Fleetwood skipper Mark Roberts for another corner.
Then right on half-time home keeper Chris Maxwell denied Jermaine Beckford as Johnson went through and pushes ball across from the right to corner of six yard box and the keeper somehow smothered.
Paul Gallagher started the second half by winning a free kick on the left and then curling it almost to the top corner, only for Maxwell to scramble back and palm wide for a corner.
A sickening sight with 15 minutes to go as Paul Huntington went down in the box after a collision with his own keeper. The No.23 led face down on the turf receiving medical attention from both clubs’ staff before eventually being stretchered off, Calum Woods replacing him after over seven minutes of treatment on the pitch.
After the resumption the home side drew level. David Ball picked up the ball about 30 yards out, dribbled inside and curled an effort over Johnstone off the corner of post and bar into the back of the net with five minutes left – their first shot on target of the game.
An extra 12 minutes were added after Paul Huntington’s injury, but in the end the two sides had to be content with a point.
Fleetwood Town line-up: Maxwell, Roberts (c) (Ball, 74), Pond, Schumacher, Morris, Chicksen (Hunter, 46), Sarcevic, Proctor, Forbes, Jordan, Haughton. Subs: Murdoch, Evans, Dobbie, Moore, Crainey.
PNE line-up: Johnstone, Humphrey, Laird, Clarke (c), King, Huntington (Woods, 83), Welsh, Johnson, Gallagher (Brownhill, 90), Beckford (K Davies, 69), Garner. Subs not used: Stuckmann, Kilkenny, Reid, Little.
Attendance: 5,110 (1,396 away fans)
Referee: Mr A Madley
Daniel Johnson had given the Lilywhites the lead inside the first ten minutes, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner from 20 yards out.
However, shortly after a ten minute stoppage for Huntington’s injury on 85 minutes, substitute David Ball curled an effort off the corner of post and bar into the top corner with the home side’s first effort on target of the game to give them a point.
Manager Simon Grayson was forced into two changes, with Bailey Wright and Callum Robinson away on international duty, Jack King and Chris Humphrey coming into a 3-5-2 formation.
And the yellows flew out of the blocks and went ahead inside ten minutes.
A corner Was won by Scott Laird and Paul Gallagher’s cross was headed by Antoni Sarcevic to the edge of the ‘D’ to Daniel Johnson, who calmly curled a brilliant left foot shot back over the players in the box into the top left hand corner for his sixth goal in nine games since his move from Villa.
It was an entertaining game without real chances until the last ten minutes of the half, when Noirth End could have put the game out of site.
Firstly with 11 minutes left Scott Laird fired in a volley from the left corner of the box after a brilliantly flowing move from PNE which was blocked on the line by Nathan Pond, flicking the ball over the bar – a superb volley from Humphrey’s deep cross from the right.
Then Humphrey himself was fed by Beckford, he danced inside Adam Chicksen, but saw his shot blocked by Fleetwood skipper Mark Roberts for another corner.
Then right on half-time home keeper Chris Maxwell denied Jermaine Beckford as Johnson went through and pushes ball across from the right to corner of six yard box and the keeper somehow smothered.
Paul Gallagher started the second half by winning a free kick on the left and then curling it almost to the top corner, only for Maxwell to scramble back and palm wide for a corner.
A sickening sight with 15 minutes to go as Paul Huntington went down in the box after a collision with his own keeper. The No.23 led face down on the turf receiving medical attention from both clubs’ staff before eventually being stretchered off, Calum Woods replacing him after over seven minutes of treatment on the pitch.
After the resumption the home side drew level. David Ball picked up the ball about 30 yards out, dribbled inside and curled an effort over Johnstone off the corner of post and bar into the back of the net with five minutes left – their first shot on target of the game.
An extra 12 minutes were added after Paul Huntington’s injury, but in the end the two sides had to be content with a point.
Fleetwood Town line-up: Maxwell, Roberts (c) (Ball, 74), Pond, Schumacher, Morris, Chicksen (Hunter, 46), Sarcevic, Proctor, Forbes, Jordan, Haughton. Subs: Murdoch, Evans, Dobbie, Moore, Crainey.
PNE line-up: Johnstone, Humphrey, Laird, Clarke (c), King, Huntington (Woods, 83), Welsh, Johnson, Gallagher (Brownhill, 90), Beckford (K Davies, 69), Garner. Subs not used: Stuckmann, Kilkenny, Reid, Little.
Attendance: 5,110 (1,396 away fans)
Referee: Mr A Madley