Dramatic 3-2 home wins for both Ladies 1's and Men's 1's, and an U16 win on Sunday.
Fylde 1 3-2 Alderley Edge 1
On the 18th February, Fylde 1XI faced Alderley Edge at home. With Alderley being bottom of the table, they arrived at Mill Farm well up for a fight.
Early in the first quarter, Alderley Edge secured a lead after a short corner goal. Fylde quickly equalised when Pru Lindsay dribbled the ball around the goalkeeper putting Fylde equal.
Up until the final quarter, neither team had many goal scoring chances. When Fylde were awarded a short corner, Lucy Woods played the ball to Georgia Marsden who got a touch past the keeper putting Fylde 2-1 up.
With minutes to go, Alderley won a short corner which they converted to level the game once again. In the final minute, Pru Lindsay had a skilful run down the line before releasing the ball to Hannah Cook who scored the winning goal.
Final score 3-2 Fylde. Congratulations to Pru Lindsay and Jayne Wilson for winning player of the match. Pru for her goal scoring skills and Jayne for her solid defending work.
Timperley 2 3-1 Fylde 2
A top of the league clash,
We knew we would couldn’t wait around and have to dash,
We wanted to give it our best shot,
As just like a few of us, our name is also in the promotion pot!
Sally, Lisa, Olivia JH and EJ passed the ball will precision and pace,
Some running as fast as they could to win the race,
Up the field then back again,
Everyone’s efforts were 10/10!
Timperley were first to score,
Some of our chins hit the floor,
A strong, determined team we are,
Showed them we won’t stop there, a green card then came for them and we raised the bar.
Shortly after a short was won,
Our idea had been done,
A save, a few tactics and some sharp passes like a sword,
Allowed determined Hannah C to smash the ball against the opposition’s backboard!
A cheer we heard and shouts of glee,
We knew it wasn’t the end - oh what must it be?
Timperley fought and wiggled through,
We tried to stay calm and do what we do,
Save after save Dani H did ace,
Timperley tried to step up and get into space.
A further 2 goals were scored against our team,
As the sunshine stood tall in the sky with a big beam,
We fought until the end and tried to play the ball,
We gave them a great game, we are proud of them all.
Garstang 2 4-0 Fylde 4
Fylde ladies arrived knowing that they were in for a tough game against Garstang 2 as they are second in the league.
Unfortunately within the first 15 minutes Garstang scored 2 field goals. The Fylde defence gained their confidence to pass the ball around the back allowing them to make quick 1-2’s with the midfield to play around Garstang. This helped the team get the ball up the pitch allowing the forwards to try and score. Eva Earnshaw made some excellent saves to keep the score at 3-0 going in at half time. Coach Jay Currey gave us the tactics to help us improve second half.
Fylde put up a good fight making some good runs up and down the wing, switching the ball around Fylde found it helped to gain ground on Garstang. With a few close calls in the second half, Fylde were unable to score, with a goal being disallowed it showed Fylde still kept fighting.
The defence had their work cut out and Beth Wolstenholme made some cracking saves on the line of the goal, clearing it wide, preventing Garstang from scoring. Garstang had a few short corners in the second half, fortunately for us they weren’t able to use it to their advantage with Abbie Southern, Megan Eccles and Jess Egan making the defence strong.
Despite the result of 4-0, Fylde Ladies 4s can hold their heads high given the way they played. Everyone demonstrated great teamwork showing lots of effort and enthusiasm. All back to Mill Farm to cheer on the men’s 1st team with a carrier bag full bag of snacks.
Player of the match GK Eva Earnshaw (amazing as she arrived at the match straight from a sleepless 9 hour flight- true commitment!)
Fylde 5 1-3 Lancaster Nomads 2
Fylde 5s faced Lancaster Nomads 2s at Mill Farm on Saturday, feeling enthused as the average age of the team dropped by 30 this week and we welcomed Evie Finnegan and Poppy Milligan to the flat 11. Captain Debbie McClelland had been plotting with her white board, and prepped the team with her You tube inspired coaching tips. The pre match warm up and penalty corner practice helped to prepare Fylde to go into the game with fire in their bellies, and determined to score some goals!
Fylde passed the ball around well from the start, with Kayt Rayner and Evie pressing high and putting the pressure on with strong attacking play. Nomads broke through but our Tiana Mosley, Heather Appleyard and Debbie made some brilliant interceptions. Tiana and Heather cleared the ball to Poppy which was unfortunately intercepted by Nomads strong wing defence. Liz Johnson managed to win the ball back and pushed forward to Rosie Leil who passed it to Kayt in the D for an award winning deflection into the back of the net. Fylde went 1-0 up and the crowd went wild.
There was some more powerful play by Fylde with some great runs by Summer Holroyd, through to Evie and Kayt before the half time whistle blew and Fylde were feeling high with lots of bubbly energy ready for the second half. Nomads came back into the second half strong pushing hard and working well, weaving through the middle. Fylde kept pushing, slapping and hitting with enthusiasm.
Lancaster broke through and Fran threw herself across the goal whilst stretching to save a shot. Whilst Heather and Tiana were hoisting Fran up, Nomads took advantage and sadly took a long corner and snuck a goal in. Fylde watched on in shock; the whole team were enraged at the lack of sportsmanship. Fylde were still in disbelief, Nomads quickly scored again from a short corner as Fylde were struggling to come to terms with what had just happened.
Fylde battled through, with Melissa Johnson Parker making some good runs down the left showing her versatility and commitment to the team and Kayt got in some great positions to receive passes through from the midfield. Nomads were clearly fired up from their 2 goals, fought hard and made several breakthroughs into the D leading to another short corner. Fran had however devised a magic plan for defensive short corners which required Debbie to hug Tiana from behind, which seemed strange but was bizarrely effective!
Despite their best attempts, Fylde conceded another goal, with the match drawing to a close with a score Fylde 1- 3 Nomads. A disappointing and frustrating result in this important match for Fylde all the players knew in their hearts that they had played their best and emotions were frayed. That said we always win as a team, lose a team.
Fylde 1 3-2 Wigton 1
Fylde heading into this week’s fixture off the back of a big result last weekend, but they knew this week would be much tougher against a high flying Wigton side who started the day in second place in the league. This was also compounded by coach Kenny Gardiner being away and injuries to key players for Fylde, even on the morning of the game.
With both captain Gaz Sym out through injury, and vice-captain Jay Currey running late due to coaching elsewhere, the armband somehow found its way onto the arm of Alex Brandwood, who of course lost the toss even before the game started. This was a sign of things to come as Wigton started fast, scoring a goal early on after some slick passing play to cut through midfield and eventually finding a man at the back post to sweep into an empty net.
A second goal quickly followed in similar fashion as Wigton shifted through the gears. Despite being two goals down, the game was still fairly even with chances at both ends but Fylde needed to make it to half time to regroup if they were to stand any chance of salvaging something from the game.
The team was deflated and had hoped for an inspirational team talk from Captain Brandwood at half time but ended up with something more like Captain Pugwash instead. Luckily the experienced heads in the team rallied the troops and this set the tone for the second half. Strength and honour was required, and that is what the team gave the crowd.
Fylde came out swinging in the second half and scored early. The short corner training on Tuesday nights had paid dividends as a shot at the keeper from Ben Mortimer found its way to the waiting stick of Martin Hayes a few yards out, as it always does, who tapped in at the right-hand post.
The fast start and the early goal had stunned Wigton and that allowed Fylde to get back into the game with some great play in the wide areas, allowing the team to get higher up the field and into the D. Another goal soon followed after a goalmouth scramble hit one of the Wigton players in the D. Another Penalty corner, this time Jay Currey hit a straight strike in between the keeper and postman to draw the game level. Currey, a product of the infamous Blackpool Badger academy, is on red hot form at the moment, with three goals in three games.
With two goals from penalty corners this week, it was also noted that it is a lot better to have the rest of the team actually ready when the corner is taken, rather than Paul just pulling them out when he wants, like rabbits from hats, or bangers and stompers in his DJ sets.
The team was lifted by the roar of the packed stand, who wanted a grandstand finish and a winning goal. The team did not disappoint. A lovely through ball from the back from Ben Mortimer found its way through to Steve Whitley, who played a 1-2 with strike partner Martin Hayes who drew out the keeper before squaring the ball back to Whitley to dispatch into an open goal. The comeback was complete.
With less than 10 minutes to play, Fylde had to dig deep to grind out the result, putting their bodies on the line and slamming the door shut time after time. Wigton could not find a way through. Every ball was chased, every man tracked, last ditch tackles made, it was a true gutsy performance, with everybody playing their part, but special mention to Ben Mortimer, Connor McClelland, Alex Brandwood (2nd Half), Adam Bate and Jack Boniface for their solid defensive work. The final whistle went and Fylde came away with a surprise 3 points!
This result will send shockwaves through the North West Hockey League, with more questions than answers. How are Fylde getting these results? Who is going to stop them? Did Alex really sleep in the captains armband? Is anybody safe from Jay’s photoshop edits? Why is Harry warming up in Crocs again?
A massive thanks to the huge crowd, it honestly made such a difference and it is much appreciated. We could all hear the support throughout the whole game and we hope we made that one of the games of the season at Mill Farm!
MoM – Jack Boniface
This could have been several players this week with 7 players all receiving votes. This is a sign of a great team performance from everybody. But in the end well deserved by Jack, showing massive heart and grit, and making several key tackles. So happy.
Busy Fool – Jay Currey
For almost being late for push back, and making Alex captain for the day. Even despite bringing the full fan club down. Very unjust.
[View from the grandstand: an exhilarating match following on from the Ladies last minute win. The bumper crowd cheered on the team from the starting whistle, almost seeing Martin Hayes score in the first couple of minutes with a swing and a miss. There were extra cheers from the young female contingent when Connor McClelland had possession of the ball, and also when Jay Currey scored the equaliser from his loyal Ladies 4's. One particular run down the left wing by Harry Marsh was accompanied by shouts of "that's my boy, that's my boy". The crowd erupted when the winning goal went in, the impossible comeback had happened, and fingernails were bitten as Wigton had a late penalty corner. Game of the season.]
Preston Girls U16 0-7 Fylde Girls U16
North West Girls U16 Tier 2 Pool Aa
Fylde U16 Girls beat their Preston counterparts on Sunday, in an away match, in a very high intensity game.
It was not as easy as the score line suggests, and Fylde were disciplined in defence and committed in attack, in a proper team display.
Two goals were scored from each of Carly Wilde, Grace Tomlinson and Laura Arts, with Amy Carter scoring the other one.
