Fylde 32 Preston Grasshoppers 29: report by Elliot Burrow
Valentine’s day is just around the corner, but there was certainly no love lost at The Woodlands on Saturday afternoon as Fylde and Preston Grasshoppers served up a derby day thriller that went right down to the wire.
The game had a bit of everything in it, some excellent tries mixed in with all the emotions and pride that these matches bring, and in the end it was a Greg Smith penalty a minute from full-time which gave Fylde the win, and broke the hearts of Grasshoppers.
Fylde had managed to work themselves into a 24-15 lead at half-time, conceding the first points of the game to an early Ben Dorrington try, before scores from Ben Turner, Jordan Dorrington, Cole Potts and Adam Lanigan moved the hosts in front, Harry Swarbrick scoring the visitor’s other try of the half with a 50 metre break.
Olli Parkinson dived over in the left corner after half-time to make it two tries in two games for the forward and extend Fylde’s lead, but if you thought that was game over then you would have been mistaken.
Grasshoppers were a thorn in Fylde’s side all afternoon and mustered up a comeback. Two well taken tries by winger Will Clapham which were converted by Will Hunt levelled things up with only five minutes to play and set up a grandstand finish.
Smith kept his composure though in the dying embers to slot the ball through the uprights from the penalty kick and make it the perfect ten from ten at home in the league for his side this season and keep them in the hunt for promotion.
Hosts Fylde came into the game still licking their wounds from that agonising 28-27 defeat against Otley last week there that had left a mark on their promotion bid, Sedgley moving back to the top by a point after their win while still having a game in hand.
Back on home soil though where they hadn’t lost a match all season gave them a chance to get things back on track, but they would have to do it taking on their neighbours Preston Grasshoppers if they wanted to keep that unbeaten home record intact.
Visitors Preston Grasshoppers had a free weekend leading up to this match and were still searching for their first win of 2023. Their last victory coming back in December in a superb home display against Rotherham, but despite sitting 12th in the league table, it would’ve been foolish of Fylde to think it was going to be a straightforward afternoon at the office.
A clear day down on the Lytham coastline with none of that cold weather about that had caused this fixture to be called off before Christmas time meant it was going to be ideal playing conditions for rugby, as the away team got us under way from kick-off.
It didn’t take them long either to really put the pressure on Fylde, a good kick from Will Hunt in behind the home defence which just on so went into touch left Fylde with a lineout five metres out from their own line, and when they failed to clear it Grasshoppers managed to win a penalty at the breakdown.
The kick into the corner followed, and from the lineout the visitors powered there way over the line with a rolling maul, Ben Dorrington spinning his way over to touch down.
Hunt converted, and the visitors had certainly started the game on the front foot.
During the week Chris Briers said he was looking for his side to keep their calm throughout the game, but it was their usual fluency that they possess in attack which they were struggling to find in the early exchanges.
They did manage to respond to the pressure quite quickly though with a score of their own in rather fortunate circumstances through Ben Turner.
A Smith chip kick over the top wasn’t dealt with by the Grasshoppers back line, and Turner scooped up the loose ball and raced away to score, Smith couldn’t convert but they were up and running.
Hoppers were really taking the game to Fylde, and after the first 20 minutes there wasn’t much to split the two teams, the visitors just holding that slender two point advantage.
An arm wrestle would be one way of describing how the game was shaping up, and it was Fylde who gained the upper hand with two tries in the space of four minutes.
Former Preston player Jordan Dorrington scoring before Cole Potts dived over from close range to take it to 17-7.
Neighbours Grasshoppers were certainly not out of it, and after managing to weather the Fylde storm, they hit back.
Centre Harry Swarbrick intercepted a Potts kick through and raced away up the left edge to score, Hunt converted to reduce the deficit.
Hunt himself was directing all the traffic for his side after they had lost skipper Harrison Moulding to a shoulder injury it seemed early on, and he slotted over a penalty goal on 37 minutes to bring Fylde’s advantage down to two.
With the lead they had built up almost eroded entirely, Fylde needed a response before the break, and they did just that thanks to a well finished try by Adam Lanigan.
Lanigan showed a quick pair of heels to race away and score, which was then converted by Smith to make it 24-15 at the break.
A nervy start to the second-half was brought to some form of calm when Fylde’s potential new winger in the making Olli Parkinson diving over in the left corner in similar style to the one he scored against Otley the week before to extend Fylde’s lead to 29-15 with just over 25 minutes to play.
They still couldn’t take full control of the match though, and Grasshoppers kept on coming at them.
Playmaker Hunt was still proving a handful for the Fylde defence and he was instrumental as they produced a brilliant comeback, two tries from winger Will Clapham who showed a superb turn of pace in both efforts, alongside two good kicks from Hunt made it 29-29 with only five minutes to play.
A draw might’ve been a fair share of the points, but this was a derby match that was never meant to end that way.
Both sides threw everything at it late on, but it was Fylde who managed to win it, a composed Smith slotted over a penalty goal to put his side back in front, and with Parkinson retaining the following kick-off, scrum half Potts grabbed the ball and sent it over the side-line to bring a close to play and seal a Fylde win.
League double complete in the end for Fylde over the neighbours and they’ll be glad to get that game out of the way that’s for sure.
Grasshoppers challenged Fylde for the full match in all areas of the pitch but thanks to the coolness of Smith they stole the five points after it looked as though they might’ve had to settle for just a draw.
They now face two away games in a row to Wharfedale and Tynedale respectively, before playing their next home match on March 4 against the league leaders Sedgley.
Line-ups
Fylde: J.Dorrington, Lanigan, Wilkinson, Stott (Rawlings 21), Turner (Stott 60), Smith, Potts, Bowker (Barrow 64), Gregory (Parker 64), Ashcroft (Lewis 40), Parkinson, Garrod, Harrison, Higginson, Fairbrother. Replacements: Barrow, Lewis, Parker, Rawlings, Forster.
Preston Grasshoppers: Pearson, Clapham, Swarbrick, Kehoane, Spence, Hunt, Moulding, Mabaya, Trippier, Orry, Murray, Naylor, Norrington, B.Dorrington, Richardson. Replacements: Holden, Guest, Procter, Jones, Squirrell.
Star man: Connor Wilkinson – Wilkinson was a threat with ball in hand all afternoon, despite not scoring, he created chances for his team and made some good breaks along the way. Defensively he was sound, and he would’ve been delighted to hear that full-time whistle at the end.
Game breaking moment: Greg Smith’s penalty goal right at the end turned the game from a draw into a Fylde win and kept them in the promotion race. He had to remain calm and composed in what was the game’s most high pressure moment to slot the ball over from the kicking tee and complete a double over their rivals.
Referee: James O’Brien
Attendance: 786