Alderley Edge (F) 2 - 1 Fylde 1 (F)
Vitality Women's Conference North
Fylde 1XI played Alderly Edge on the 26th February. The game started with a slow start from Fylde and unfortunately a break from Alderly Edge meant Fylde were losing 1-0.
However this did not discourage Fylde who worked well together in defence putting pressure on Alderly Edge. Fylde had many chances in the first half, but unfortunately didn’t manage to score.
Another break from Alderly Edge meant Fylde were now down 2-0. However Fylde kept fighting, they kept tight in defence not conceding any more goals and immediately shutting down Alderly Edge.
The midfield worked hard to win the ball and create a turnover which led to a break, and Fylde scored a great goal from Tineka Jennings in the last quarter.
The match ended in a 2-1 defeat for however Fylde did not give up easily!
Fylde 2 (F) 3 - 1 Carlisle 1 (F)
North West Women's Division 1 Well what a fantastic game!
Some things were different, some were the same.
We passed, we danced and we cheered,
Even during the warm up an injury we feared.
An attacking game we went out to play,
We wanted to win and press well I heard us say,
A fantastic save by our confident and determined Dani to the side,
Great to see a stand full, also on the ride.
Lots of rotation who were disciplined and worked hard,
The players were like soldiers creating a white wall press ‘on guard’!
Lots of passes with precision and pace,
Did Carlisle really know who they were about to face?
They resorted to the long ball through,
Not knowing who it was going to,
They found a foot and a short was given,
A scrappy hack a goal was scored and was tricky as the ball was hidden.
This did not worry us, we stayed calm and content,
Up higher we moved and some great balls were sent,
The baseline was hit and some outcomes earnt,
We were trying to practice all we had learnt.
We got a short from a foot,
Ready to strike and make the cut,
EJ smashed it to the backboard,
A mighty cheer the crowd roared!
1-1 it stood but we didn’t want to draw,
We played, we battled and Carlisle pulled the short straw,
OJH, Jayne, Beth and Olivia M passed well around,
Some strong passes from Mia and Sally, made an awesome sound.
The creative movement from Katie and Emma,
Put the opposition into a crazy dilemma.
We fought and steered them into a corner,
And from a short Tash scored a stormer!
The play continued working together,
The time seemed to tick in the sunshine what seemed forever,
A great atmosphere all around,
Then a player placed her foot on the goal line ground!
A flick was given and Layla was chosen to take it,
It went in and so was 3-1 and Carlisle began to quit.
A fantastic win at our home ground today,
We go again wanting a win and ready to play as one, we say!
Lytham St Annes 2 (F) 0 - 5 Fylde 3 (F)
North West Women's Division 2 North
Fylde Ladies 3's beat the bottom of the table side convincingly, with goals from Laura Knowles and two apiece from Arian Milligan and Keira Tomes.
Lancaster Nomads 1 (F) 0 - 3 Fylde 4 (F)
North West Women's Division 3 North (Central)
A short away trip for the Ladies 4th team to face Lancaster Nomads 1st team for a lunchtime match. The girls warmed up and prepared for the game ahead as the sun shone down on the pitch at Lancaster University. A moment of reflection and one minute applause for Val Robinson (hockey legend) proceeded the match.
Fylde started strong passing the ball from player to player. A cross from the right by Lali Atherton was met by Grace Tomlinson at the back post who put the ball across the line. Shortly after Grace took a ball to the face and left the field for some first aid to her bleeding top lip. The experienced Lancaster Nomads had strong hits but were forced wide with the deep press from Fylde. More blood during the half time talk as Hannah tried to stop a nose bleed.
A few minutes into the second half a green card was awarded to Kirtika Saravanan as she battled well in the right midfield. Following the award of a penalty corner it was injected by Lucy Wane to Lauren Appleyard, slipped left to Grace on to Lucy at the back line and into Hannah Metcalf on the penalty spot who slotted it into the bottom right corner. A well worked penalty corner taking Fylde 2-0 ahead. Several breaks from both sides continued but both defences worked together to prevent shots on target. A transfer from Lucy on the left across the pitch reached Lali on the right. She drove forward fast, crossed to Hannah in the circle which resulted in a further goal for Fylde.
Final score 3-0, a third win in a row for the team should secure safety in the division. Congratulations to Sophie Finney and experienced, but in her own words ‘rusty’, goalkeeper Alice Trill for their debuts in the 4th team. Player of the match Amy Carter.
Fylde 6 (F) 2 - 2 Brookfield 2 (F)
North West Women's Division 5 North (Central)
Fylde Ladies 6 played Brookfield Ladies 2s at home with a minute's tribute to Val Robinson before the starting whistle.
Brookfield took first pushback and came out strong but could not penetrate the Fylde defence and the ball was quickly turned over with Fylde able to dominate possession. A lucky break from Brookfields saw a long ball find their high forward who slipped it passed the defence leaving Fran Loffler-Thompson, who had stepped up again to go in goals, with a one on one, she deftly batted the first attempt away but the Brookfield player caught the rebound and slipped the ball passed to score.
Fylde were not put off by this set back and held strong and soon found themselves in a similar position with Hollie Twose making an excellent run through the Brookfield's defence and into their D, she did not let their keeper break her stride and expertly placed the ball in the bottom right corner.
The experience of the Brookfield Ladies saw them back in Fylde's defensive D, Fran Loffler-Thompson cleared the shot but a battle in the congested D saw the ball slip through to give Brookfields the lead.
Following a halftime team talk, Fylde came out strong, using their speed and ability to get around the Brookfield players gaining most of the possession. Katie Sloan made a run down the right with Hannah Culshaw in support, Tiana Moseley received the ball in the attacking D, putting it across the face of the goal allowing newcomer Molly Andrews to take a deflection to even up the score.
Brookfield made every attempt to come back working into Fylde's defensive D with Fran again making the save but Brookfield's experienced attackers were able to take another strike placing the ball just beyond the keeper's reach but Heather Appleyard was able to pick it up and sweep it out to the side.
Final score Fylde 6s 2 - 2 Brookfield 2s. Special mention goes to Molly Andrews on her debut game for Fylde.
City of Manchester 1 (M) 6 - 0 Fylde (M)
North West Men's Division 1
Fylde’s first team had a tough fixture to contend with on Saturday, with a large proportion of the squad unavailable and playing away at an organised City of Manchester team.
Chris Dunkerley and Richard Clarke made their first team debuts, whilst Ollie Holmes again stepped up to help the squad. All three worked hard for the full 70 mins and showed their ability to step up to this level when needed.
Despite the inexperience of the team, Fylde only found themselves 2-0 at half time, defending well as a unit and limiting the opposition to mainly half chances. The first goal in itself was unlucky, with a wayward shot misjudged by Fylde keeper Danny Taylor, who deflected it into his own goal much to his disappointment.
Any chance of a surprise result though swiftly went early in the 2nd half with 3 quick fire goals. Fylde continued to defend hard, with a barrage of penalty corners being negotiated but ultimately it was Fylde's lack of composure on the ball which cost them.
A tactical change towards the end of the game brought about a bit more solidity for Fylde and half chances for them on the break but a sixth goal for City of Manchester finished the tie.
Man of the match Jordan Payne led the line valiantly throughout and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet with the couple of chances he effectively self-created. Fylde host Windermere next week as they battle to keep above the relegation places.
Fylde 2 (M) 2 - 15 Preston 3 (M)
North West Men's Division 3 North
Now, this is a story all about how
Our lives got flipped-turned upside down
So let me take a minute
Just sit right there
And I’ll tell you how we all became Second Team players
In North West England is where we play
Penned in our D is where we spend our Saturdays
Slapping an’ flicking an’ hittin’ the ball
Wishin’ and hoping to concede less than we score
But most of the teams we play are just too good
So we end up lettin’ in far more than we should
And today we played Preston and it didn’t go well
They scored as many goals as syllables in this line I tell
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Fylde twos
With Harry ‘s surging run and Charlie killin’ the blues
Fylde played well in parts but Preston had them out gunned
Back and forth the game went and end to end we runned
The first half went super quick
Fylde playin’ good hockey moving ball to stick
Preston breaking with speed and getting shorts and goals
Half time put that on hold
The second half started and the game was tight
A breather and chat at the change got us set right
It didn’t last
Fylde were being cut out
And Preston started to make their possession count
But then on a break Fylde go into their D
When Nige had a shot the scramble led to a penalty
From the short corner Si Allen played in Mr Banks
Who flicked past the keeper to score, we all gave thanks
As the half drew on Fylde weren’t downhearted
Despite constant Preston pressure Fylde would not be parted
Then Tilley cussed out loud like one of NWA
The umpire showed yellow to round off his day
All had fun playin’ out in the warm sun
The season ends soon, we’ll remember this as such fun
Just look at the table
Shows all we need to see
Goodbye Preston threes we're so outta this league
Fylde 3 (M) 0 - 9 Preston 4 (M)
North West Men's Division 4 North
Despite playing the team at the top of the league Preston 4’s, Fylde 3’s sticked to their own game plan and for 15 minutes were on equal terms with the much more experienced opposition.
Once Preston scored their first, there was a steady stream of goals throughout the rest of the game. Fylde continued to play aggressively, rather than sit back and defend, and had numerous decent attacks on the wings and in midfield, but Preston’s defence was solid.
There were a few heated moments in the second half as Fylde became frustrated conceding 9 goals in total, but the game becomes an opportunity to learn for the team that has developed so much already this season.
The result was perhaps inevitable, given Preston 4’s were playing in the same division as Fylde 2’s last season, and for reasons unknown had dropped a division in the league restructure, which has caused problems for all of Fylde’s Men’s teams. The hope is that the divisions will be more balanced next season.
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