Charlie Adam could not hide his frustration after Fleetwood impressed against Barnsley but fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Barnsley led through Sam Cosgrove’s header before Bosun Lawal pegged them back with a brilliant goal from distance.
Having wasted chances when dominating the first half, Fleetwood were then undone by Herbie Kane’s winner just before the hour mark.
Adam was left to rue those early missed opportunities, with his second-bottom side seven points from safety.
“We were the better team in the first half and the opportunities that we had were big chances,” he said.
“I think we should have had a penalty as well, that was a big call in a big moment, that would have got us back to 1-1, then we got our goal with a wonderful strike and it’s a huge disappointment but the effort that the lads put in was incredible.
“It’s frustrating but I think if you look at what we produced our performance was very good in terms of what we tried to do. Our game plan was working but we got caught with two opportunities against us that we feel could have been avoided.
“But I can’t fault my lads, they are giving everything and that performance against one of the top teams in the league should be a moment for them to grasp where we are and what we’re trying to do.
“Small margins win you games and small margins lose you games too. They’ve given us that performance against one of the best teams in the league who are in great form and have lost once away from home all season so we knew it was going to be a difficult game.”
Barnsley boss Neill Collins said the three points from another successful away day were hard earned and showed his players’ character.
“I’ve just said to the players the only thing that matters on days like today is the three points,” he said.
“I can’t be too judgemental about any performances, although the performance was good, especially in the last 30 minutes, but when you come to these places it might not be conducive to playing any type of football.
“The wind and rain was a real leveller, and I thought Fleetwood asked a lot of questions of us and our players stood up to it, so we move on thinking this was a big three points.
“They’ve shown character throughout this season, I think character is a great word for the group, I think they’ve got a lot of quality and energy but to have that character is going to stand us in really good stead.
“I thought their best chances came earlier in the game and we felt pretty comfortable in the second half. Every game’s tough away from home, especially playing against relegation teams because it’s make or break for them.
“I thought Fleetwood were so up for it and if we’d have been anything less than we were we could have been blown away but we weren’t. They’ve stepped up to every challenge really well.”