Barton lauds strength of squad after victory at Wimbledon - 7M sport

Barton lauds strength of squad after victory at Wimbledon



Posted Sunday, February 09, 2020 by PA

Barton lauds strength of squad after victory at Wimbledon

Joey Barton hailed the impact of Fleetwood’s bench after their dramatic 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon.

Substitute Paddy Madden netted a late winner from close range as the Cod Army sealed successive wins in League One for the first time since September.

Barton believes his bench strength settled the contest and his views on the success.

he said: “I’m delighted to see Paddy get the winner. We looked at the bench and we knew we could make an impact from it.

“That was the difference – Wimbledon fought hard and played really well but our ability to bring Madden, Paul Coutts and Barrie Mckay off the bench ultimately swung the encounter.

“I’m really pleased, especially coming off the back of a period of frustrating draws.

“We were desperate to get that one win – which we did last week – and now, like London buses, another one has come along.

“We can play much better than we did, but it’s always a sign of a decent side when they’re not at full capacity but they find a way to win.

“You have to stand up and be counted at Wimbledon to leave with the points and we dealt with their physicality.”

Fleetwood took the lead in scrappy style with 22 minutes gone when Luke O’Neill diverted the ball into his own net after the Dons’ failure to clear a Town corner led to a goalmouth scramble.

The hosts’ equaliser came when Shane McLoughlin rose the highest at the back post to meet Jack Rudoni’s delivery and head past Alex Cairns after 34 minutes.

Madden won the game for his side nine minutes from time, firing home his 15th league goal of the season following good play by fellow substitute McKay.

Dons boss Glyn Hodges lamented his side’s mistakes but insisted such performances will be enough to keep them in the division.

“It was very disappointing and we couldn’t have done much more,” he said.

“Mistakes have cost us at this level, but if we hit those performance levels in future we will get more points than we lose.

“The defeat is a kick in the teeth. We tired a bit in the second half but that was because the players put their all into the game.

“Credit to them because they’ve won the game but they had to put their bodies on their line. We asked a lot of their defenders.

“A lot of our young players are playing without fear. If we play like we did, that is not a team that is going to go down. I am confident about the way we are going about our business.”

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