26 January 2021

Keith Curle feels Northampton were unlucky not to take the win at Fleetwood

26 January 2021

Northampton boss Keith Curle felt his side deserved maximum points after they drew 0-0 at stuttering Fleetwood

The Cobblers eased out of the League One drop zone courtesy of their point at Highbury, but the visitors had decent chances to have gone on and pinched victory late in the game.

“I was a bit disappointed not to have come away with the three points, of course,” said Curle.

“We were the only team out there that looked like scoring in those closing stages.

“We got ourselves onto the front foot, although we had arguably the best chance really early in the game through Ryan Edmondson.

“If that one had gone in then the game might have turned out different, but it’s encouraging to see your strikers in those forward situations.

“We missed a couple of players from the weekend, but I think it shows just what we’re trying to create here by the way in which our new loan players have come in and done a job.

“We’ve created a foundation I believe. It’s about building that platform and that base now.

“The confidence is coming and the momentum was definitely there tonight. It’s just a pity we didn’t go on to secure maximum points.”

Both sides had opportunities during an entertaining opening 45 minutes at Highbury.

Fleetwood midfielder Callum Camps was denied by a superb finger-tip save from Jonathan Mitchell.

At the other end the Cobblers went close when Edmondson darted through on goal, only to be thwarted by Alex Cairns.

The Cobblers probably shaded it in the second period, with substitute Ryan Watson twice going close to a winner in the final 10 minutes.

Fleetwood’s interim boss Simon Wiles was determined to remain upbeat after the game, though he has still not secured a victory since being handed the reins following Joey Barton’s departure.

After a second consecutive goalless draw, Wiles said: “The main positive is that we’ve kept another clean sheet, which is something that I’d spoken to the lads about following the Wigan game on Saturday.

“We’ve spoken about little building blocks that we’re creating, and obviously this is another one. We’ve just got to try and make sure that when we do create those chances, we put them away.

“We just need to keep creating and keep taking those chances when we can. That’s the message from tonight’s game.

“We were much more on the front foot in the first half. We were aggressive with our pressing and we did create a few chances.

“It’s only a matter of time before Camps and (Paddy) Madden start to convert more freely again so we can go on and get those three points.

“We’ve had really good conversations about where we need to improve and get better, but the defending and resilience was there for all to see again tonight.”

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