H PLACE FINISH
catch and drive which at the second attempt Sam Stott joined and crashed over for his second try, meaning Fylde had not only survived but had managed to increase their lead to 24-10 at the break. In the second stanza Stott did not reappear, having taken a blow to the nose, the second facial injury he has received at this venue in recent years. Ben Turner replaced him, and Lewis Quinn came on for Greg Morgan. Wharfedale started strongly and made an early breakthrough with replacement Josh Burridge forcing his way over to make it 24-15, as they sought to use the slope and extra man to fight their way back into the game. The second half gradually began to become more fractious and spikier, the officials having to work hard to keep control. Quinn’s spell was brief as he was forced off on 51 minutes, Matt Ashcroft making a welcome return. In amongst the heavy ball carrying and fierce defensive efforts from both packs, the effort was made to create space for the flair brigade out wide. On 52 minutes Fylde managed to execute a back move perfectly with deft hands giving winger Adam Lanigan just enough space to get over in the left corner and stretch the lead out to 29-15. Personnel numbers were then evened up as Wharfedale’s Dan Wills, only just on the pitch, tipped a player off the ball and was yellow carded. Fylde continued to do the hard work and look to release the ball when it was on, and they finally gave Freddie Reader his first real chance of the day on 61 minutes, a chance he accepted, as he jinked the first man, broke clear and left the last man grasping at thin air as he raced in from halfway, making Clayton’s conversion a formality. Fylde finally had some daylight at 36-15. The feisty side of the game was never far from the surface. Fylde won another penalty, but it was reversed when they pushed the man over trying to get the ball off him for the quick tap. Wharfedale were then down to 14 men again as Jake Armstrong was yellow carded on 65 minutes in an incident that saw Dave Fairbrother replaced by Ben Dorrington as the attritional collisions took their toll.
Wharfedale’s Green Machine never gives up, and they created a good score from being under the cosh. First, they stole Fylde line out near they own line, then earned a penalty which they hoofed down into Fylde’s 22. The catch and drive sucked in the Fylde defence, and they then span the ball, Fylde running out of defenders as Zeb Heys crossed for the score. Replacement Jimmy Howarth converted and with 9 minutes left it was 36-22. Fylde came back at Wharfedale and had an easily kickable penalty which would have put them 3 scores clear. Pragmatism being low on the agenda, they chose to tap and go and were turned over. As Wharfedale looked to exit searching for a bonus point try and to make the last few minutes nervy ones, Fylde winger Cam Smith knocked on looking for the one-handed interception. The inevitable yellow card followed, and Fylde were down to 13 against 15. Good defence meant they could see out time and deny the home team even the consolation of a try bonus point. Often, at the end of the season, on firm pitches, with the sun shining, defence can become less intense than usual. There was none of that in this game, despite there being 9 tries, it was bruising and physical stuff, with a decent amount of flair breaking out for good measure. A good-sized crowd was treated to a fierce no holds-barred game. A rest week with only 1 game left in the season seemed daft a while ago but now is a godsend. Having worked very hard to secure fourth spot, Fylde will look to get ready for one last battle with yet another Yorkshire team, when second placed Sheffield visit the Woodlands on the 26th of April. Joint head coach Alex Loney said; “We are very happy with the performance and the win. Wharfedale is a tough place to come, especially with us both trying to finish fourth and it was great to secure that which represents a good achievement. It was a mixture of physicality, being brave with the ball and some good tries scored, in the face of some adversity, being down to 14 men for a long time. The scrum really held up and the forwards fronted up against a tough pack.”
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