Fleetwood manager Charlie Adam was “hugely disappointed” after his side’s underwhelming defeat at home to Crewe saw them slide to 14th in League Two.
Ryan Cooney’s late penalty sealed the points for Crewe after Fleetwood had several chances throughout the game.
Adam, whose side have not won since the first weekend of October, said: “We were frustrated because we did OK with the ball, but Crewe really grew into it.
“I knew that only one goal was going to win it. Then they got the goal, which I didn’t think was a penalty, but I’m really disappointed with the result and now we’ll have to see where we’re at.
“The penalty that was given I didn’t feel was a penalty. Their player I felt just jumped into (Mackenzie) Hunt. But the longer the game went, they grew in confidence, they got more with their strikers coming on late on, and it’s hugely disappointing for us.
“With the amount of the ball that we had, to not do enough to work the goalkeeper – we were missing that final little bit going forward, and maybe that’s something we need to have a serious look at.
“We’re going to have to get on the training ground, get the lads into the right positions, and ultimately it will come down to making the right decisions in the right moments. So we will get down to the training ground on Thursday to prepare for our next game against Newport County.”
His opposite number Lee Bell, whose Crewe side are now unbeaten in five games in all competitions, said: “I thought the first half was probably these poorest we’ve been. It was pretty dull, too many passes without looking to go forward, and that’s not us. I wasn’t happy at all with the first half.
“But then they’ve obviously looked forward a little bit more in the second half, which then brings Shilow Tracey into play. Max Conway was picking up little pockets of space – I thought Max was excellent again.
“And overall really pleased to come here against a good team because our second half was much more like it, and if we could have produced that first half I think we might have got another couple of goals.”
Cooney had not scored a league goal in his career prior to Saturday’s equaliser against Salford, his only previous strikes coming in the EFL Trophy, but Bell had confidence in him on the spot-kick.
“I think there was a couple of occasions in the game where the referee could have probably given us a penalty,” Bell said.
“It’s something they’re big on, that type of stuff – pulling players down off the ball. There’s a couple of occasions where that was the case. I thought one was a stonewall penalty. Then we’ve obviously got the one with Omar Bogle, who I thought was really good when he came on.
“Omar obviously wants to take penalties – he and Ryan Cooney stay out taking them – but we knew Ryan was going to take it. He hadn’t scored for nearly 180 league games? And now he has two on the bounce.
“So, a really good three points for us. Lots to improve on, and lots to be happy with.”
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