Team spirit delights boss

LEE Johnson lavished praise on his side after a third successive win in eight days ended Fleetwood's unbeaten league record.

Jonathan Forte's 45th-minute penalty was enough for three points as Athletic kept a third clean sheet.

It wasn't uncontroversial. Fleetwood manager Graham Alexander felt the penalty call was wrong - but as far as Johnson was concerned his side was dominant enough to deserve victory.

“What a difference a week makes, eh? Seven days before this, everyone was lower than a snake's belly,” said the manager, whose side has risen to 11th in the table.

“Three wins later and everyone is riding high and delighted. It was a great win and a really tough game, again. We were good for it and had the chances to put it to bed without quite doing that.

“Dominic Poleon came in, did fantastically on his debut, and was unlucky not to score.

“I am delighted with their spirit.”

As well as debut man Poleon, Johnson highlighted his midfield men: “Liam Kelly and Mike Jones were superb,” he added. “They had a really difficult job. To compete as they did, picking up second balls and tidying it up, was great.

While Johnson didn't get a good sight of the penalty incident, Fleetwood boss Alexander was left raging at referee Mark Brown.

"I'm not taking anything away from Oldham because they are a good team, but they were given a massive helping hand,” Alexander said.