Fylde 1XI 5-1 Bowdon 3XI
North Hockey League Division 3
Fylde’s 1st team extended their lead at the top of the North 3 table with a resounding 5-1 against mid-table Bowdon.
It didn’t take long for the home side to gain the momentum, Jordan Payne finding space in the D from a pass by Simon Major, firing low under the onrushing keeper. Captain Major then grabbed one of his own, James Oakes feeding the ball to him from the left, who then drove into the d with little pressure from the defence and smashed the ball low into the corner. The first half didn’t all go Fyldes way though, Jay Currey became a victim of the slippy pitch, mistiming his pass and leaving a Bowdon forward through on goal who made no mistake. 2-1.
Fylde piled on the pressure though and looked a much more assured side than the one that drew with Bowdon earlier in the season. Simon Thomas applied the finishing touches to get fylde’s third and Josh Boyne expertly flicked home a penalty corner to effectively put the result beyond doubt at half time. 4-1
Fylde used the second half to try some new formations, and although the goals didn’t continue to flow, the practice could well come in handy in the coming weeks as they look to close out the league title. Nick Rainbow again impressed in net with a series of top one-on-one saves, meaning Bowdon had no further goals to show for their efforts. Fylde grabbed a fifth late on to put gloss on the result, Jordan Payne quick turn and shot wrong footing the keeper.Second place Timperley again slipped up, meaning Fylde have a four point gap at the top with a game in hand. They face a daunting double header next week, travelling away to North Wales on Saturday, followed by a visit of third placed city of Manchester on Sunday.
Fylde Men have also reached the final of the Lancashire Trophy Final in March against Wigan after Prescot conceded the semi-final due to be played on Sunday.
Formby 3XI 3-5 Fylde 2XI
North West Hockey League Division 2 North
A lengthy delay to the start of the game due to the over running game before, resulted in a car park team talk and warm up. Fylde started the brighter of the two sides and won a penalty corner early with captain Simon Allen scoring his second in as many games, with a low strike which proved too powerful for the Formby goal keeper. It was looking like it would be a good day for the coasters but the early lead did not last.
Formby, a varied mix of youth and experience managed to get a couple of goals back with Fylde looking bored and uninterested. Fylde levelled the scores through Phil Hope, but it was the home side that went into the break 3-2 ahead.
With Dave Brown missing, the team talk was delivered by Allen and Fylde knew they needed to turn the game around to keep up with the promotion pack at the top of the league.
Luca Sempers levelled the score shortly after the break after a real team passing move that linked up defence, midfield and attack needed with him finishing under the goal keeper as Fylde began to find their rhythm. It wasn’t long before Sempers doubled his tally when Fylde got a short corner and he calmly dispatched a drag flick perfectly into the top corner putting the Coasters one goal ahead.
Shortly after the restart another penalty corner was awarded and Sempers stepped up with an exact rerun of his previous goal giving the youngster a hat trick. Notable performances from Ben Mortimer in the engine room, Duke Jones on the left and Matt Atkinson in the back four. Overall a positive result with the Coasters returning to Mill Farm next Saturday for 2nd vs 3rd in the league.
South Manchester 1XI 5-0 Fylde 3XI
North West Hockey League Division 3 North
Fylde's 3's travelled to South Manchester on a very blustery day and got blown away in the first half, conceding four goals, several at short corners and generally outdone by the opposition pressure and determination.
After a small tweak in formation, Fylde played much better in the second half, and were unlucky not to score, and only conceded one further goal in a breakaway counter-attack.
Tim Woodman was Fylde's Man of the Match for making the central midfield role his own on such young shoulders.
Preston 1-2 Fylde 4XI
North West Hockey League Division 4 North North
One of the most anticipated games in the Fylde 4s fixtures list is the local derby against Preston. Fylde looked the stronger team and and dominated the possession. Several attempts were denied by the heavily defended Preston goal and the occasional break away from Preston were pushed away including some exceptional defending by young Ollie Greenwood. In the last seconds of the first half, an attempt at the Fylde goal was stopped by a defender on the goal line and a penalty flick awarded. The shot was read correctly by Captain and keeper, Craig Nutter, but the ball deflected off his arm and stick and into the goal leaving Preston one goal up at half time.
Bolstered by their lead in the first half, Preston came on strong but Fylde remained solid and continued to push forward. Half way through the second half, a string of perfect passing from Luke Hope to James Smith, to Martin Hayes who crossed to Tim Wilson who then drilled the ball into the corner of the goal. With the scores now even Fylde rallied again and about 10 minutes later Martin Hayes rifled a second into the Preston goal. Then followed a succession of pushes and short corners by Preston, everytime being defended and pushed back by Fylde. As the final whistle went a last short corner was awarded and everything rested on keeping Preston at bay. Martin Hayes joined his defence team on the goal line and charged the ball down stopping the main attempt on goal with the defenders and keeper managing to take the ball out of play. The game finished 2-1 to the Fylde 4's.