Fylde knuckled down and worked very hard to repel Macc and keep the ball when they got it. More scrum penalties helped Macc put Fylde under the cosh, but Fylde’s defence held firm with Will Greenwood and Max Senior pinching line-out ball at key pressure points to halt Macc’s flow. Fylde still tried to play their wide game when they could and one neat move on the blind with a couple of chips over the top by Will Hunt caused danger before a knock on ended the move. Macc were booting ball deep when needed but the Fylde back three of Jordan Dorrington, Ben Turner and Leo Gilliland coped with everything well to return from deep and allow their pack to get behind the ball. Young Rob King being the sole prop on the bench had joined the fray before half time and whilst the scrums were difficult, he put himself about as a tireless ball carrier, getting over the gain line consistently and making sure the ball was recycled well. On 64 minutes Fylde were again reduced to 14 men when Danny Cassidy was sent to the bin for not retreating 10 at a tap and go penalty. Macc set up another line out in the red zone following a further penalty. The line out was defended well but Macc recycled quickly and created just enough space for the other Shute brother on the opposite wing, Samson, and he squeezed in at the corner for the go ahead try. One of the second set of brothers in Macc’s line up, centre Harry Oliver’s excellent touchline conversion made it 19-14, giving Macc the lead for the first time and meaning Fylde would need more than a penalty or drop goal to get anything from the game. Fylde did not let their heads drop and skipper Dave Fairbrother galvanised his troops for one last effort. The front row with their supporting members in the pack made sure the scrums were solid for the last 10 minutes and Gabe Maguire and the back row harried and hassled the Macc scrum half to force mistakes. Fylde were awarded a penalty for a high shot, secured line out ball and set up shop in Macc’s 22. There followed the most concerted period of Fylde possession your reporter has seen, 15 to 20 phases of players driving closer to the Macc line. King,
Fairbrother, Bowker, Ashcroft and Stott were to the fore with repeated carries until the dam broke, Lewis Quinn’s final muscular carry seeing him crash over. 19 apiece would have perhaps been a fair scoreline, but Will Hunt was having none of that and he defied the wind and the angle to slot the game winning conversion beautifully. 6 minutes of nerve-jangling defence followed until one last penalty saw Fylde exit their half for the last time and see out time. This was a game that could have gone either way, but Fylde will gladly take the excellent away win, their fourth victory on the trot after the opening day draw. They sit 4th on 20 points and having beaten one of the 3 teams with 100% records they have the opportunity to beat the other 2, Sheffield and Tynedale, in their next two home games, with a trip to new boys Scunthorpe sandwiched in between. The attritional nature of the league is already showing so that will be a tough task, Fylde will hope Mike Walton’s injury was not serious. The depth of the squad is being tested and youngsters like Greenwood, Senior and Sutcliffe are showing they are up for the challenge, ably supported by the established players and veteran evergreens. Macc named Quinn man of the match, but this was very much a team effort, everyone playing their part in a fine win, with skipper Dave Fairbrother leading by example admirably. Joint head coach Chris Briers said: “This was a difficult game in tough conditions. We got off to a flying start then Macc made things very difficult for us, and we didn’t come away from their 22 with as many points as we could have done. The second half was better in terms of looking after the ball, especially when we kept it for multiple phases to get back in front and then see the game out into a strong wind. The grit and determination of the whole squad showed their character and it was really pleasing to see.” Fylde: Dorrington J, Turner (Trippier 45/Turner 52), Cassidy, Stott, Gilliland, Hunt, Maguire, Fairbrother (Captain), Ashcroft (Sutcliffe 74), Walton M (Senior 28), Greenwood, Trippier (King 32), Parker, Bowker. Unused subs: Gould, Lanigan
www. fylderugby .co.uk
23
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator