Matt Lawlor hails Fleetwood ‘character’ in draw at Grimsby

Fleetwood boss Matt Lawlor was proud of the “bucketfuls of desire” his side showed to earn a point against promotion hopefuls Grimsby following a 2-2 draw at Blundell Park.

Both sides led in a physical, end-to-end battle on a wet afternoon in Cleethorpes, with Fleetwood going ahead early through Will Davies.

The Mariners responded with goals from Cian Doyle before the break and Andy Cook past the hour mark, but a quick counter punch provided by Finley Potter five minutes after the hosts went ahead was the deciding contribution.

Lawlor said: “It was end-to-end stuff. It wasn’t comfortable at times for me, but they’re a really good team who have had a few years under David [Artell] now to create a nucleus, and we’re experiencing the ongoing process of that.

“The way they operate as a team is exactly how I want us to be, but I thought we matched them at times.

“They were better than us in the first half, but then we had some really good chances in the second half, so on the balance of play we’re pleased with a point.

“I think we showed bucketfuls of desire and character, exactly the things I want to see from us every week going forward.

“We came here last season and let a goal in the 96th minute, but now in the last minute we make a goal-saving block and show a genuine willingness to get a point against a side that will be right up there.”

Lawlor’s opposite number David Artell came away with slight frustration at the draw despite also continuing their unbeaten league start alongside Fleetwood.

Artell said: “I thought we ended the first half as the much more dominant side after a slow start.

“The first 15 minutes were the worst of the whole game for us. We switch off from a set-piece and then two unanswered contacts lead to a goal, which is obviously not how we want to start a game.

“We then get on top and score a really good goal. Greeny [Kieran Green] puts it on a plate for Cian [Doyle], who can’t miss, and we should’ve had more before half-time.

“We pointed out a couple of things at half-time to the lads in terms of where we thought we could hurt them, and they executed that well, but then we shot ourselves in the foot.

“From that point, we stopped doing the basics well in terms of getting our foot on the ball and on top of second balls.

“The goals we conceded were not typical for us this past year, so there were a couple of reminders of what we need to do to win games.”