Matt Lawlor rues Fleetwood’s game management after throwing away two-goal lead

Matt Lawlor said Fleetwood should have managed the game better as they were pegged back from 2-0 up at half-time to draw at home to Cheltenham.

Fleetwood were dominant in the first half and pulled clear thanks to Mark Helm’s double.

But Jordan Thomas sparked the recovery midway through the second half and Isaac Hutchinson levelled from the penalty spot to ensure honours finished even in the League Two clash.

“We’ve dropped two points, definitely,” Fleetwood boss Lawlor said. “At 2-0 up at home you’ve got to see the game out and win it.

“We were in control and then we gave the ball away a bit sloppily, which leads to the penalty.

“When you’re in that position you’ve got to manage the game better.

“I thought we were really dominant for large periods and that’s the way I want us to play.

“We moved the ball well, we created chances and we caused them problems, especially in the first half.

“But control is great, and we had that tonight. What I want now is that excitement in behind their back line, getting the fans off their seats and getting players into the box wanting to score goals.

“We had the opportunities, we just needed that extra edge at times.”

Fleetwood went into the game unbeaten in six and after a confident start they opened the scoring through Helm in the 17th minute.

He added a second in first-half stoppage time but Thomas started the move that ended with him halving the deficit before Hutchinson won and then converted a 74th-minute penalty.

Cheltenham boss Steve Cotterill was pleased with his team’s character as they picked up another valuable point on the road.

“We were 2-0 down, but we were good,” he said. “It’s a terrible night and not good conditions, but I thought we were the better team throughout the game.

“They are a good team and it was always going to be a really tough gig for us. We carried on and tried to win it after equalising, which was good and we had one big chance at the end.

“But it was a great effort all round by everyone at the football club tonight.”