Blackpool boss Neil Critchley saluted a “magnificent” effort from his team after they triumphed 1-0 in their Fylde Coast derby clash at Fleetwood

Gary Madine notched the only goal of the game early on as the visitors to Highbury secured a fifth win in six League One matches and an eighth in nine in all competitions.

Critchley said: “It was a terrific win for us, and a very hard-fought win. The lads were collectively magnificent, and it helps keep our good, recent momentum going.

“I thought we showed a different side to our game today.

“We knew we’d have to fight and scrap for everything, and that’s how it panned out.

“A set-piece has decided the game, and beforehand I thought there might be a chance of that happening.

“We’ve shown battling qualities to get us through, and we needed to do that because Fleetwood are a very good, consistent side.

“They’ve proved that this season and last.

“We’ve defended brilliantly, though, and in the end I thought we deserved to win the game.

“I’m really pleased because as I say, Fleetwood are so strong here so for us to keep a clean sheet and restrict them to just the odd chance, shows just how far we’ve come.

“We’re here again in the Trophy in midweek, so let’s hope we can get another good result because I want to go as far as possible in all competitions.”

After Fleetwood veteran defender Charlie Mulgrew had hit the crossbar in the early stages, it was Blackpool who struck their match-winner in the 16th minute.

Sullay Kaikai floated in a well-placed free-kick, and an unmarked Madine nodded home comfortably.

Ched Evans missed a good chance to level before the interval but in the end, the visitors got home with few further scares.

It proved a big disappointment for Fleetwood boss Joey Barton, whose side lost on home soil for the first time since September.

Barton said: “It feels a bit like groundhog day.

“We’ve lost by one goal again. It’s been a set-play again so it’s been disappointing.

“I don’t think we were at the races in the first half, certainly not as good as we can be, and that was our worst first-half performance of the season.

“I challenged the lads at half-time and decided to make a substitution and that galvanised the lads somewhat.

“We had more of a pop in the second half, but to come away from the game without having a shot on target is really disappointing.

“We’ve gone from being a free-scoring team who look like possibly racking up double figures, to a side who have been really stop-start in the last two games at Northampton and here today.

“It’s something we’ve got to work on, and it is a long, hard slog this season, so we’ll just have to keep working hard and go again.”