Leading the supporters’ online vote for man of the match this weekend, Craig Tanner was full of praise for the attacking options either side and ahead of him as Fleet made it eight goals in two league games.
“I think everyone complements each other really well,” Tanner said after Saturday’s win. “You’ve got Dom’s pace and good runs in behind, I think Raks is probably the best at holding it up and has clever little movement and Lee Martin is what Lee Martin is and he brings so much going forward. I thought we looked really good today and we had to be patient… it was only a matter of time until we got the breakthrough.”
And leaving the attacking players aside, there was even a contribution from defence in the form of Joe Martin.
“I joked to him that there’s life in the old dog yet, I think he got a bit lost up there!” Tanner said. “It’s good to see him score and it takes a bit of burden off Dom, Raks and Marts. And I still want to pop up with a goal or two but I think I’m contributing in other ways for the team, which I’m more than happy to do. It’s important that we score and whoever scores it doesn’t matter.”
Tanner had sat out a couple of games through illness but you wouldn’t have known it to watch his range of passing and running in midfield. His ball forward to Lee Martin earned the penalty in the first-half and Tanner provided numerous opportunities as he threaded passes together throughout the 90 minutes.
“It was just nice to get back out there with the win and the sun shining, I enjoyed it!” said the former Motherwell and Aldershot player. “It’s nice playing a bit more central, that’s where I prefer to play because it’s a bit more involved in the game and the boys make great runs, so it’s easy to put it on a plate into them.
“I think that’s the fifth position I’ve played so far so it’s nice to think I can play different positions but as long as I’m on the pitch I’m happy. Anywhere centrally where I feel like I can influence the game.
“When we look at the league table I think we were at 16th at one point but look how tight the league is. When you have a few games in hand you can quickly shoot up, I think we jumped up 10 places in one win last week. There’s a lot to go but as long as we keep ticking over, building and putting in good performances then everyone’s happy.”
Next up for the Fleet squad is Saturday’s home game in the Emirates FA Cup against Hampton & Richmond Borough. The 3-0 defeat at The Beveree is still fresh in the mind and Tanner also has more Cup history to write if Fleet negotiate this weekend’s tough encounter.
“I think we’d like to [gain a little revenge]. I don’t think we gave a fair reflection of who we are and what we can do so I think as long as we put on a good show and we play the football we want to play, that’s enough revenge. I don’t think we’d done ourselves justice on how we played and for the fans who travelled, so obviously we’re back at home and hopefully a few fans will come out in the FA Cup and enjoy the session.
“I played [for Plymouth Argyle] against Liverpool away at Anfield and we got a draw and took them back down [to Home Park] and we just lost it in the last minute against them. I’ve played some other big games so if you win it, you never know what happens when a few big boys come, League One and League Two. But it’s still 90 minutes to play and we’ll see what happens.”
