Of West Ham United’s seven shots on target, the 20-year-old forward had two of them, despite the fact he was only on the pitch for 35 minutes.
Tall, strong and able to carry the ball, Fletcher was a constant threat to the Romanians, who somehow clung on to secure a 1-0 victory on the night to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
West Ham enjoyed 65% possession, had 17 attempts at goal to Astra’s four and forced ten corners to the visitors’ one, but Astra held out to go through to the group stage.
Fletcher, for one, did everything he could to try and score the equaliser the Hammers craved, repeatedly coming short or pulling into wide areas to receive possession before laying the ball off to a teammate, linking up the play or turning and running at the over-worked Astra defence.
Twice, the former Manchester United youngster came agonisingly close to equalising – first when he collected Angelo Ogbonna’s shot before seeing his own effort saved by the foot of goalkeeper Silviu Lung, then with a low 20-yard shot that the Romania international did well to tip around the post.
It was not just his willingness to shoot that excited the London Stadium crowd, though, as he twice slalomed past a succession of defenders. The first time, a third came across and Fletcher went down in the box, but no penalty was given, while the second he beat his man before being fouled a yard outside the Astra area.
All in all, Fletcher looked by far the most likely West Ham hero on a night when one was sorely needed. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, a goal just would not come.
Casting that disappointment aside, the Yorkshire-born forward impressed both his manager and the Claret and Blue Army hugely.
Manager Slaven Bilic summed up his performance by saying: “He was really good, not only last night when he came on but when he came on against Bournemouth. He made a big impact, not in terms of scoring or creating assists, but he was one of the reasons we won that game.
“He makes the pitch smaller because he is there in no time with that energy and quality. He did a really good pre-season with us and scored a couple of goals against really decent opposition and then last night, when he came on, he did really well and showed he has that quality.
“We had a few chats, me and him, during pre-season and he’s a very bright lad, he believes in himself, he is ready to work, willing to learn and train and sacrifice and I am sure we’re going to benefit from him in the future. He’s really good and I like him.”
Bilic confirmed on Friday that more opportunities are set to come Fletcher’s way and, if he approaches his work the way he did against Astra, the likelihood is that his fortune in front of goal will soon change.