Pendle Forest Women 0 - 2 Fylde L1
Women Vitality Women's Conference North
Fylde Ladies 1s travelled to a wet and windy Pendle Forest for an early 11:30 push back. Immediately from the whistle Fylde mounted sustained pressure on the Pendle defence. Pru Lindsey produced some great skill and used her pace to enter into the Pendle 'D' to create goal scoring opportunties for her team mates but Fylde were unable to capitalise in the first quarter. This was also coupled with strong saves from ex-Fylde goalkeeper Freya Bennett. Before half time Fylde managed to break the deadlock after being awarded a short corner. Izzie Milbourne fired a superb drag flick in. There was strong outletting from Lucy Woods and solid play from Captain Vicky Rukin and Bo and Hattie Madden in midfield, who continuously drove the Fylde attacks. This culminated in a wonder strike from Dr. Hannah Cook after some nifty skills to allow herself to take the shot. Fylde managed to see out the game without conceding but unable to add further goals. Special mention to Charlotte Thomson on her National League debut. An exciting future ahead! Well done Fylde Ladies 1s on an excellent team performance, onto Wakefield next week for hopefully another three points!
West Derby 1 2 - 1 Fylde M1
North West Men's Division 1
A depleted Fylde 1st team travelled to West Derby with several debutants and youngsters in tow to take on their division rivals.
Fylde started brightly, some great interlinking play between Simon Major, Ben Douglas and debutant Josh Keelan created some good opportunities for the visitors they were unable to finish.
West Derby took the lead 10 minutes into the half an attempted aerial pass from Ian Brown was deemed dangerous and from the resulting free hit West Derby charged to the Fylde back line for a square pass just past keeper Nick Rainbow for a far post tap in.
Fylde ramped up the pressure on the West Derby defence, Ben Douglas and Jordan Payne linking up to send Jamie Oakes through for the best chance of the half, but Oakes' low shot saved by the out rushing keeper, who pushed it wide of the right post.
Fylde travelling with 12, and their coach Chris Simcock also being on the bench to assist, had to call upon the latter after Fylde stalwart Rob Jepson was taken out from a routine tackle and ended up with a broken acromian bone in his shoulder, so a tough first half for the Coasters.
Second half saw Fylde get back into the game early a ball from Tim Heine across in the air from the left hand side found Oakes to catch top of the D and place past the diving keeper for the captain’s first goal of the season.
Fylde piled on the pressure, another debutant in Duke Jones continued to press the West Derby backline with several opportunities going begging.
All the hard work was undone however at the end of the game when a final minute penalty corner saw Rainbow, Brandwood and Major doing some great defending work to get the ball away only for it to richoche after a second big save from keeper Rainbow into the path of a West Derby player to steal the win at the end.
It ended 2-1 but the young Fylde team should be proud they filled in very well, unbeaten Timperley travel to Mill Farm next.
Fylde L2 1 - 1 Formby 1
North West Women's Division 1
On a miserable, damp day, Fylde were ready to host,
Whilst Formby travel from coast to coast,
Some travelling from near and far,
As it was pouring that much, some were in the bar!
At both ends short corners were given,
No one could score, despite the balls being driven,
A short corner happened in our defending D,
but with an amazing stop from Kelly W, she wouldn’t let it be!
With great central play from Beth, Dawn and Sally,
we worked well to keep tight and not dally.
A great ball was sent to Lisa S from Emma,
taking a great strike and putting Formby in a dilemma,
With a successful win for a short,
We showed them we are here, playing our sport.
With Fylde’s Emma S scoring powerfully into the back of their net first,
We all had worked up such a thirst,
Formby were then lucky with a reverse back of the stick shot,
However, Fylde stepped up and did amazing linking passes like dot to dot!
Fylde remained tight and looked after the ball,
Even after a few trips and a fall,
They worked till the end, not giving up at all,
After that effort, they all walk away standing tall.
Fylde M2 5 - 1 South Lakes 1
North West Men's Division 3 North
A convincing win for Fylde second team after last week's loss. A good start to the game with Fylde keeping the ball and playing round the back and creating many opportunities, leading to a penalty stroke awarded after some good play which was flicked home by Alex Horrocks.
Unfortunately South Lakes replied quickly making it 1-1 with one of their only attacks of the game and a good reverse strike into the corner. Fylde soon took the lead back with 3 more goals to finish the 1st half 4-1 with goals from Chris Walker, Adam Ball and a wonder goal from Si Allen. Fylde continued to control the game and showed purpose in the second half with Kristian Brandwood scoring to end the game 5-1.
MoM - Adam Ball on debut.
Kirkby Stephen 2 0 - 5 Fylde L3
North West Women's Division 2 North
Fylde Ladies 3's made the trip to Kirkby Stephen in the wind and the rain, the weather did not dampen spirits and the team were determined to make the game count. The game saw three new debutants (Lali Atherton, Laura Knowles and Layla Wholey).
The team started the game strong, securing a penalty corner within the first two minutes of the game. With strong pressing play from Valarie Versterre, Layla Wholey, Laura Knowles and Charlotte Gornall the ball did not leave Kirkby’s defensive half for 25 minutes, Layla Wholey made it 1-0 with great rebound work and hounding the goal keeper. By half time the team were well in control of the game, moving the ball well round the defensive line and maintaining possession. Kirkby had moments of break through play but these were well handled by the defence and keeper Felicity Flood-Whittle.
The second half saw no change; the wind, rain and possession continued. With multiple shots on goal the forward line were unlucky to not make the goal tally higher, the increased movement around the goal meant that both Layla and Valarie made it two goals each. As the second half continued Kirkby began to tire allowing Charlotte, Marcy, Layla and Georgie to make great runs through the middle. One such run ended in a penalty corner which was expertly converted by Laura Knowles.
A fantastic team game ending with a 5-0 win. MOM: Charlotte Gornall
Fylde M3 1 - 3 Lytham St Annes 2
North West Men's Division 4 North Fylde Men’s 3’s were the team to start the day’s games at Mill Farm this week, against local rivals Lytham St Annes 2’s.
Lytham were the stronger in the first half, and despite some great saves from Rory Mower on debut in goal for Fylde, Lytham went into the break 1-0 ahead.
After a tactical change of formation, Fylde came out for the second half with strong passing and moving. Richard Clarke harried the Lytham back line into a mistake, and was then able to give a square ball for Nigel Sadler to blast into the goal for the equaliser.
Lytham regained the lead from a short corner which broke down into a goalmouth scramble and a soft goal was conceded. Lytham made the win certain, when an opportunistic reverse stick looked like it was going wide but snuck inside the post, to the amazement of all but the goal scorer.
An even game but final score 3-1 to Lytham. MoM Rory Mower.
Fylde L4 - bye week
North West Women's Division 3 North (Central)
Windermere 2 2 - 0 Fylde M4
North West Men's Division 5 North The M4s did their best to help with the current fuel crisis by strictly limiting themselves to 11 players to reduce the total passenger mass and therefore fuel consumption on the trip north to a rather blustery and damp Windermere. With no such restrictions on their hosts, the odds were stacked against establishing an unprecedented glorious two game winning streak by the visitors. The game settled into a pattern of the Windies largely dominating possession and the Flies robustly rebuffing any and all attacks. Craig Nutter made a number of important saves in the first half to deny Windermere, the kind of form that has led to his recognition and promotion from the 3s to the 4s. Similarly Ollie Holmes, doubling up for the second week in a row (we are hugely grateful for this kind of commitment), also made the leap from tepid 3s hockey to the dynamism of Div 5N and showed why he is so highly thought of, linking well with Chris Hills. Hills held the ball up well, and helped bring Luke Whitelow into the game from the left. Whitelow, well known for his exemplary keeping skills, showed flashes of the long dormant outfield skills. Phil Weir was everywhere, tackling voraciously from the centre half position to disrupt the Windermere play. Martin Stringfellow was always looking to receive the ball and battled hard to try and create some space to release players, but the honest truth is, without much speed in midfield or attack, Fylde were essentially camped in their own half for 90% of the game. Half time came with the score still locked at 0-0. Fylde had no regrouping to do and no tactical changes to make, just another half of the same, try and nick a goal if possible. The second half saw Windermere press higher up the pitch, although the excellent defending of Peter Latimer and Craig Tilley restricted the home side to mostly shots from distance. Windermere sensed the way through Fylde was down their left hand side, and Fylde had to rely on aerial balls to try and clear their lines. This wasn't because their right sided players were not good, they were, but every time they tried to take the ball down their right hand side, Connor McClelland intercepted in a ferocious display which gained a unanimous MotM award. Could Fylde hold on for the draw? Or even pinch the win? No. In the middle of the second half, a well struck pass into the D was deftly deflected by the Windies centre forward, just out of Nutter's reach at the near post. Fylde tried to counter, but conceded a second in the process. No shame in that at all. The clear lesson from this game is the M4s need to be less old (a record average age of 44 (mean) and 48 (median)) and more numerous. On to the important part of the fixture: the tea. It was uncertain whether the Windies could provide a tea because of fuel/covid/Brexit (delete as applicable), but it magically appeared. The lack of tea bags was the low point, but this was more than offset by the excellent sandwiches: the correct type of cheese (not the bland tasteless stuff that's like wax, nor the super mature stuff which is too dry), ham (sorry pigs), egg, and cheese and pickle. All but a few on the correct type of bread as set out in league rules: medium sliced white bread. There was some of the brown rubbish, but they were ignored. Strangely, the king of all bread, Warburton's Toastie is not the prefered bread for sandwiches. That's also in the league rules somewhere, probably. Crisps were provided, salt and vinegar, cheese and onion and the occasionally missed prawn cocktail. This was also good news. The captain thought he saw the remnants of a piece of millionaires shortbread disappear from a plate, but scoured the table and was only able to identify a brownie for dessert, although this was more than adequate. Mini sausage rolls were also provided. In conclusion, a perfectly pleasant drive up to the Lakes, a game played in the right spirits, generous hosting from a nice bunch of players, and apart from a few scrapes and bruises, no injuries. The tea was good too. Lost 2-0 if it matters.
Preston 2 1 - 0 Fylde L5
North West Women's Division 4 North (Central) Ladies 5th team headed to Preston for their match with a guest appearance in goal from the Ladies Captain Fran Loffter. The team worked hard in the first half with an even level of possession and held a 0-0 score. Second half saw the opposition increase their persistence in attack on goal and the Fylde defence work hard to resist their attempts. Preston scored a lucky goal from a defender deflection. Despite their best efforts Fylde couldn’t find the back of the net and the final score was Preston 2Xl 1-0 Fylde 5XI.
Fylde L6 0 - 3 Chorley Phoenix 2
North West Women's Division 5 North (Central) Fylde Ladies' 6th team faced Chorley Phoenix 2s at home fielding a very young team, they took first push back and immediately learnt that the opposition was fast as one of their players intercepted the ball. The Fylde girls worked hard and whilst most of the play was in their defensive half, they repeatedly succeeded in breaking down the attacks and managed to make a couple of good breaks but the Chorley Phoenix defence cleared these and a fast run forward saw their striker in Fylde's defensive D and a well placed shot found the back of the net, giving them the lead. Following a team chat from coaches Fran and Alex at half time, Fylde came back out with great determination and managed to create some good plays, moving the ball and making the Chorley defence work hard to stop the attacks. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the team, Chorley Phoenix made a couple of breaks, winning a couple of short corners which keeper Dani Howarth and the defence managed to prevent being turned into goals. Having worked hard to try and even up the score, it just wasn't to be and twice more Chorley Phoenix managed to make a run beating the defence and finding the back of the Fylde net twice more. Final score, Fylde Ladies 6th 0 - 3 Chorley Phoenix 2s. MOM was awarded to Kirtika Saravanan. Special mention also goes to Tiana Moseley and Laura Arts on their debut game for Fylde.
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