FYLDE SENIOR COLTS REACHU18SCOUNTYCUPFINAL
Match Report Sedgley Park Senior Colts v Fylde Senior Colts U18 County Cup Semi-Final 6th February 2025, 2pm Fylde secured a dominant victory over Sedgley Park in the U18 County Cup Semi-Final, running out 42-5 winners in a physical and competitive contest. While this was a cup game, Fylde had already beaten Sedgley Park twice in the league this season—24-7 at home and 57-20 away. Fylde entered the match as favourites but faced a refreshed Sedgley Park squad, featuring returning players and Junior Colts eager to make an impact. First Half Sedgley Park started strongly, capitalising on their heavy forward pack. Their persistence paid off early when Fylde were penalised for not releasing, allowing Sedgley Park to take a quick tap-and-go to crash over the line. The conversion attempt drifted wide, giving Sedgley Park an early 5-0 lead. At 9 minutes, Fylde responded, taking advantage of Sedgley Park’s repeated ruck infringements to kick for territory. Their lineout, which had been an area for improvement, showed progress as Lock Ted Brown secured ball possession, enabling the forwards to set up an effective maul. Hooker George Squires finished the drive over the line, with full- back Corey Morgan slotting the conversion to make it 7-5 to Fylde. By the half-hour mark, Fylde were still under pressure in their own red zone, committing repeated infringements to keep Sedgley Park at bay. At 30 minutes, the referee issued a warning, and soon after, Centre Harry Marsh was sent to the bin for not rolling away from the ruck. The spell in the bin made Marsh very ready to compete on his return.
Fylde defended for 69% of the first half, conceding eight penalties for not releasing the player, collapsing the maul, and not releasing the ball. Despite the pressure, the tireless efforts of Lock/ Prop/general workhorse Jack Palmer were instrumental in defence, consistently disrupting Sedgley Park’s go-forward and putting in a big shift to destabilise their attack.
At 20 minutes, Lock Elliott Swann had to leave the field to have his right shoulder attended to. Vinnie Graham came on as his replacement and made an immediate impact. At 27 mins a lineout won by Sedgley Park was quickly shifted out to their fly-half, but an interception by Centre Jake Rae put Fylde back on the attack. A high tackle penalty gave Fylde a tap-and-go opportunity from 5 metres out, and Scrum-half Sam Curran found Graham, who powered through to score. Another successful Morgan conversion extended the lead to 14-5 at half-time.
Swann returned to the field in the second half as a lock, while Graham moved into the front row.
Half-Time Score: Sedgley Park 5 – Fylde 14
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