CLITHEROE were sunk by a sub... and that wasn't the only disappointment for Lee Sculpher's side last night.

To compound an unexpected NWCL First Division defeat, Clitheroe also lost ace striker Lee Cryer through injury and had Mark Stewart sent off for an off-the-ball incident.

The Ribble Valley outfit just couldn't find a route to goal despite dominating the play and both Andy Cowking and Chris Whittingham, watched long range efforts strike the crossbar before bouncing out to safety.

Clitheroe forced any number of corners and free kicks but found Fleetwood a tough nut to crack before caught with the ultimate sucker punch late on.

Only eight minutes remained when Fleetwood launched a rare attack and substitute Jason Weller pounced to grab the all-important goal after Kris Richens had spilled a long-range shot.

The knee injury to Cryer after just 15 minutes came as a major blow and the cause was not helped by Stewart's dismissal as Sculpher conceded: "After a couple of good results it was a disappointing night for us.

"Our approach play was good but we couldn't get a goal and sometimes you have to credit the other team - Fleetwood came to make it hard and their game plan worked a treat."

CLITHEROE...0 FLEETWOOD...1