Fleetwood 2–1 Bristol Rovers – Frustration on the Fylde Coast

Some games leave you annoyed because you’ve been outclassed. Others, like this one, leave you annoyed because you know the points were there for the taking. This was firmly in the second category.

Rovers started with decent energy, but the defensive frailties that haunted us last week showed up again. In the 26th minute, Fleetwood’s Will Davies was allowed too much space to slot home after a low cross evaded everyone in blue and white. Before we’d even had time to regroup, he struck again—this time lifting the ball over our keeper after a simple through ball carved us open. Two goals in eight minutes, and the away end stood in stunned silence.

The rest of the first half was about damage limitation. Passes went astray, promising moves broke down, and while Fleetwood weren’t creating much else, the damage had been done.

After the break, there was a noticeable shift. Darrell Clarke clearly got into the lads, and we started to press higher and commit more bodies forward. Suddenly, Fleetwood were on the back foot. Our reward came on 72 minutes when Promise Omochere coolly tucked away a penalty after clever play in the box drew the foul. At 2–1, you could feel the belief rise in the away end.

We pushed. Corners rained in. Crosses flashed across goal. The equaliser felt close—but in the end, it never arrived. Fleetwood held firm, slowed the game down, and saw it out.

It’s frustrating—two defeats from two is not the start anyone wanted. But I’m not throwing the towel in. Darrell Clarke has rebuilt sides before, and you can already see glimpses of the team he’s shaping. The defending needs sorting, the lapses need cutting out, and we’ve got to start games sharper. But it’s August. There’s time.

For now, it’s about sticking together. We trust DC. We trust the process. We dust ourselves off and go again.

UTG