Matlock were left to rue two lapses in concentration towards the end of the first half which saw them concede twice and give them a mountain to climb on the sunny Lancashire coast on Saturday.

A three goal lead certainly flattered Fleetwood, as Matlock fought back well after the interval, but a combination of excellent goalkeeping by Danny Hurst, plus some poor finishing hindered their recovery prospects which were finally extinguished when Fleetwood added a third from virtually their first worthwhile attack of the second half.

Joint boss Phil Brown reckoned Matlock lacked a bit of belief in his post match assessment. He had a point.

After weathering an early Fleetwood storm in which Andy Richmond saved superbly from a Steve Foster power packed drive after a miscued James Lukic clearance had ballooned high into the air, Matlock were looking comfortable. A Steve Warne effort was deflected wide and Gary Webster broke down the right to cross low along the penalty box.The danger passed with no Gladiator there to finish the move off.

 It was a good tight contest although Richmond again did well to block from Foster in the 32nd minute and in the scramble that followed, Foster's strike partner Alex Taylor was floored as Matlock cleared their lines. Matlock switched play quickly to the other end only for referee Gittens to stop them in their tracks and allow Taylor treatment. This proved to be a defining moment as Matlock switched off.

Within a minute of play restarting, Ryan Laight drove wide from twenty yards before almost instantly FOSTER burst through the centre on to a well placed Michael Brown pass to confidently lift his finish over the advancing Richmond and give the Cod Army a precious lead.

Fleetwood had their tails up and Richmond was out quickly to spread himself well to deny Taylor. Then a corner was headed out as far as Kieran Walmsley whose cross shot found Nathan Pond's head before bouncing past a post.

Then came another important minute when Matlock might have equalised but then found themselves two goals down. Hurst pulled off a splendid flying save to tip aside a Steve Taylor strike bound for just inside his far post. Fleetwood responded in the best possible way, but Matlock will be kicking themselves for conceding so easily.

 Walmsley, a constant threat on the right, had both time and space to measure his cross and the unmarked TAYLOR headed firmly past Richmond for the second goal with just three minutes of the half remaining.

 Illness meant that Steve Taylor did not appear for the second period, being replaced by Dene Cropper. Warne and Webster switched flanks as Matlock sought an early reply. They might have got it when Warne cut in from the right but Martin Moran's marvellous block kept out his well struck shot just as an opening appeared. From the resultant corner, Cropper found plenty of power in his header but Hurst was ideally placed to hold just above his head.

 Matty Caudwell came on for the hard working Neil Ashley who had ankle ligament damage and Laurence Hall replaced Webster with Matlock, to their credit, going for broke.

 Within two minutes of his introduction, Hall burst down the right to set up Caudwell with an astute pull back, but instead of bursting the net, the former Worksop winger lifted his ten yard shot too high. It was a great chance and another one arrived just three minutes later.

This time Cropper found himself in the clear, and after composing himself, the big striker saw Hurst produce another top class diving save to claw away his left foot drive, but only as far as the slightly off balance Caudwell who sliced the loose ball behind.

Had Matlock converted these chances, as they should really have done,an interesting finish was on. But they were made to pay for their generosity when from a 76th minute free kick Fleetwood made the game safe.

Ricky Mercer headed the ball on, Richmond was a little slow to react to the danger and TAYLOR nipped in to nod home, in spite of Ryan Davis' best efforts to clear.

There were still chances for Matlock as Hurst again produced the goods with another magnificent save as he pushed out a fierce blast from Warne, before in the last minute, Hall turned well on a throw from the right and his shot flew inches over the bar.

Matlock learnt a painful lesson in that good well organised units like Fleetwood will punish mistakes, whether they be defensive, or a failure to take chances. The Gladiators contributed to their own downfall and will play worse and win matches, but they came up against an in form Fleetwood side who took the opportunities that came their way. That proved to be the big difference at the end of the day.

 MATLOCK TOWN: Richmond, Laight, Riley, Circuit, Davis, Lukic, Webster (Hall 68), Warne, Taylor (Cropper 46), Barraclough, Ashley (Caudwell 61)

 REFEREE: I Gittens (Lancaster) ATT: 604 STAR MAN: Steve Warne.