As Fleetwood Town prepare for Sunday’s Blue Square North play-off final against Alfreton Town, two of last Sunday’s goalscorers have been reflecting on what it means for the club and players.
Gareth Seddon’s headed goal direct from a corner - his eleventh strike of the season - opened the scoring in the second leg of the semi final against Droylsden and set Town on the way to their dramatic victory:
“It was a massively important goal because if they’d scored first we’d have struggled but the gaffer knew that if we’d scored first another could follow quite quickly.”
Seddon revealed that he had had a quiet word with skipper Jamie Milligan before the corner was taken: “I told Milly that I’d been left free at the near post for the previous corner and with his delivery he could whip it in and I could get there before the keeper.”
Simon Grand’s opening goal for the club, also headed from a corner, enabled Town to take the lead for the first time in the tie:
“I thought I’d won it because there were only a few minutes left on the clock but obviously we went about things the hard way like we had on Wednesday! Let’s hope we don’t have to go through penalties again come Sunday.”
Both players paid tribute to their team-mates who took part in the shoot-out, not least heroic goalkeeper, Danny Hurst. As Seddon said: “We all know that going to penalties can be a lottery but the lads were brave enough to stop up and Danny’s been brilliant all season. As a player, you have to savour moments like those when everyone celebrated at the end and let’s hope there are more to come on Sunday!”
Grand (pictured) admitted to ‘a few nerves’ at the end but paid tribute to those who got Town over the line. Looking ahead to the all-important final, he added:
“I’m looking forward to it – it’s what we’ve worked hard for and deserved. I’m looking to enjoy the occasion because you don’t get many like them in your career, with family and friends there to have a great day out. We are trying to stay relaxed and do what we’ve done so far to get ourselves into this position and if both teams play at their best I’m confident we’ll come out on top.”
Seddon knows that Town cannot afford to underestimate their opponents: “We can’t take anything for granted because we know that they’re a strong team but looking back over the season we deserve to go up.”
He is looking forward to playing in front of a sell-out crowd: “Hearing a big home crowd getting behind you gives you a lift, there’s no doubt about that, and we’re definitely going to need that kind of support on Sunday.”
