Joey Barton relieved to see Alex Cairns turn away late penalty

Posted Sunday, January 26, 2020 by PA

Manager Joey Barton advised Fleetwood goalkeeper Alex Cairns not to cut his toenails after his late penalty save earned a well-deserved point in the goalless draw at Bristol Rovers.

Jonson Clarke-Harris drove his low 87th minute spot-kick down the middle after Paddy Madden was judged to have brought down substitute Alex Rodman.

Cairns dived to his left, but managed to divert the ball onto the crossbar with a foot to deprive Rovers of a first win under boss Ben Garner.

Manager Barton said: “I think Alex saved with a toenail! I’ve told him not to have them cut before we play our next game against Coventry!

“It was never a penalty, but sometimes referees seem to think they need to make something happen in a game like that.

“We had the chances to win, but there are no easy games in this league. Rovers hadn’t won for nine games, yet they are clearly very competitive.

“It would have been robbery had the penalty been scored, but that can happen in football.

“We now face a really busy period with so many fixtures in a short space of time and we will need to be smart in managing the squad.

“Coventry will be a brilliant test for us. We lost there earlier in the season, but hopefully have learned the lessons from that game.

“If we do any more business in the transfer window it will be loan signings.”

Rovers have not scored a league goal this year and Garner is still awaiting his first victory after nine games in charge.

He refused to blame Clarke-Harris for not breaking his duck, saying: “Jonno’s shot would have gone in 99 times out of a hundred.

“He is disappointed, but I have had a word with him and he will definitely remain our penalty-taker.

“The reason we are struggling for goals is a mixture of missed chances and failure to turn some good positions into opportunities.

“Those are things we need to work on in training. But I saw a lot of positives today and remain really upbeat about the remainder of the season.

“I am not sure whether there will be any more new faces coming to the club this month. There is nothing imminent, but if the right deal materialised something might happen.

“Things are not quite going for us at the moment, but I have real confidence in the players here and we will be fine.

“We have to put today’s disappointment behind us quickly and move on to Bolton in midweek.”