Thierry Gale struck late on to maintain the Whites’ momentum as the clock ticks down towards the big kick-off, writes Pete Oliver.
Wanderers were five minutes away from a first defeat in three warm-up games since returning from their summer training camp when Gale capped an eye-catching cameo with his first goal of the summer.
The winger’s intervention, curling the ball inside the far post, came after an infusion of Wanderers’ senior players from the bench after Steven Schumacher had blooded some youngsters and spread the game time around on his return to Highbury.
The former Fleetwood midfielder saw his much-changed line-up following Saturday’s draw with Everton fall behind early in the second half to the League Two side.
But when the Whites’ boss sent on his big guns to keep them ticking over ahead of a final public work-out at home to NAC Breda on Saturday, Wanderers went up a gear and deservedly levelled when Gayle struck in front of over 1,000 travelling fans enjoying their trip to the seaside.
Wanderers’ re-shaped side took a while to find their feet but created the first real chance of the game with 20 minutes gone.
Springing defence into attack following a Fleetwood corner, Sam Dalby released John McAtee for a run at goal stopped only by a superb covering tackle from Town defender Raff Cirino before McAtee could pull the trigger.
From the corner that followed Lewis Temple powered a header over the top from a delivery from Cyrus Christie, whose distribution from the right-back position was matched on the opposite flank by Max Conway when he crossed for Sam Dalby to head at home keeper Jay Lynch.
The Whites – wearing their new yellow third kit – failed to make the most of a couple of other opportunities around the Fleetwood penalty area, while the League Two side always looked dangerous on the break.
Former Town keeper David Harrington was only tested once before the break, though, parrying a strike from Ronan Coughlin before a poor touch in the box from Lewis McCann saw arguably the best chance of the first 45 minutes slip by.
McCann made amends, though, with a hand in the opening goal six minutes into the second half. This time Harrington couldn’t deal with his skidding shot and only blocked the ball as far as Coughlan to cross for Ched Evans to side-foot home.
Evans almost scored again when the Wanderers’ defence failed to deal with the veteran frontman and with an hour gone Schumacher changed it up from the bench with the first set of substitutes.
One of them, Marcus Forss, almost equalised within minutes as another Christie delivery created chaos in the Fleetwood box with Forss seeing a header saved by Jay Lynch before McAtee’s follow-up was blocked and Josh Sheehan collected the loose ball before curling an effort just wide.
Ruben Rodrigues was next to see a shot blocked in front of goal as Wanderers lifted the tempo in search of a leveller with Sheehan again shooting wide and Gale opening up the Town defence.
And it was Gale who finally found the break-through to level five minutes from the end. The winger looked the most likely route to goal and while his latest dangerous delivery may have been meant as a cross, it had sufficient curl to avoid everyone and find the far corner of the net to end the night on a high.
Wanderers: Harrington (Broome 60); Christie (Stephenson 72), Temple, Inwood, Conway (Famewo 72); Simons (Sheehan 60), Watson (Rodrigues 72), Dong (Gale 60), McAtee, Ritchie (Warren 72); Dalby (Forss 60).
Fleetwood: Lynch; Bennett, Trialist, Potter; Cirino, Cannon, Neal, Helm, McCann; Coughlan, Evans.
Referee: Paul Tierney
Attendance: 2,134 (1,135 away)