FYLDE 22 PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS 20: match report by Will Judd
Fylde welcomed local rivals Preston Grasshoppers to the Woodland Memorial ground in their opening home match of the season, but despite the local rivalry and the fanfare surrounding the match, and in front of a big crowd of almost 1,500 on a beautiful early autumn day, both teams were fully focused on securing their first win of the season.
The home side began the game on the front foot with Matt Garrod scoring a try from close range after only 5 minutes, thanks to early pressure. Fylde led by 5 after fullback Lucas Atherton narrowly missed the tight conversion.
Fylde maintained their first half pressure, pinning Preston to their own half for much of the opening 20 minutes. A yellow card for Preston lock Ally Murray far from helped the visitors, and the man-advantage eventually led to the captain Toby Harrison forcing the ball over the line deep in the corner, and doubling Fylde’s lead.
The opposition may have thought the tide was turning in the match when former Fylde favourite Greg Smith scored a penalty kick from just outside the 22, but his successful return to his old stomping ground was short lived when his former team secured the ball from an aggressive kick off, firing back to score a try from the back of a maul on the left hand side of the pitch through flanker Lewis Quinn. The only hiccup was the lack of a conversion again, this time with Lucas Atherton unable to find the posts, meaning Fylde’s lead stood at 15-3. An injury to powerful no 8 Mike Walton led to him to be replaced by David Fairbrother who made an appreciated return after 10 months injury absence
And indeed the team were left rueing their missed points as just before half time they were caught out by the visitor’s trademark rolling maul off an attacking lineout. A few phases later and it was Harry Holden that brought the visitors back within an unconverted try. A disallowed Sam Stott grounding late on due to crossing meant Fylde had a narrow 15-8 lead as they headed for the break.
On the re-start, unfortunately for Fylde, Hoppers picked up where they left off in the first half. The home side misjudged their receiving kick, allowing it to bounce, allowing wing Owain Williams to break down the touchline and feed the fast supporting centre Sammy Russell who plunged over for the try. It was unconverted but Hoppers had closed the gap to 15-13.
Preston were a different animal in the second half and when a penalty was won near the Fylde 22; the result was inevitable. A kick deep into the corner and a rolling maul meant that prolific scoring hooker Harry Holden cruised over the line for his second of the game. A Greg Smith conversion rubbed salt in the wounds for Fylde as all of their first half work was all but wasted as they now trailed 15-20.
Fylde’s poor second half start got even worse when David Fairbrother was sin binned for a high tackle but this was just the beginning of a rather busy second half for referee Sam Yates.
Indeed, high tackles were the reoccurring theme for the remainder of the match, as the game kicked back into action for Fylde at the 69 minute mark. Hoppers replacement Maher received a yellow for a high challenge moments after an unnoticed clothesline tackle on another Fylde player, by which time the crowd had become restless with the young referee.
The fresh man advantage finally allowed Fylde to grow back into the game and after half a dozen minutes of sustained pressure, much like Fylde of the first half, they began to break both the discipline and resolve of the Hoppers defence.
Greg Smith was binned with only three minutes to play, poetically giving his former club an advantage on his return, before a second yellow due to foul play sent Murray off for good this time in the dying moments of the game.
Fylde made the advantage count and, with the clock rapidly ticking down and the noise of the home crowd behind them, they finally broke the resolve of the opposition defence. Off the back of the scrum (which was about the few things Fylde has success with in the second half) the ball landed in Dorrington’s hands who slammed the ball down between the posts.
There was some deliberation from the Hoppers team, who believed he had knocked the ball on before grounding, but the officials were having none of it. It was just up to young fly-Half Patrick Bishop to score his first (and most important) points of the game, confidently slotting the ball between the posts to regain Fylde’s lead, creating roars from the balconies and the stands alike.
All they needed was a few phases to maintain the ball after that, which they managed to do, seeing their win out narrowly to secure their first of the season in what was a truly nail-biting encounter. The final Fylde try also earned them a bonus point and a maximum five points haul in N2(N).
FULL TIME: FYLDE 22–20 PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS
MOM: The coaches nominated skipper Toby Harrison.
Click here for video coverage of Fylde’s four tries.
Click here for Chris Farrow’s splendid 200 photos album.
FYLDE: 15 Lucas Atherton (Tom Forster 64); 14 Ben Turner, 13 Jordan Dorrington, 12 Sam Stott, 11 Freddie Reader; 10 Patrick Bishop, 9 Ben Gould; 1 Corey Bowker, 2 Rob Williamson, 3 Peter Altham (Olly Trippier 41), 4 Greg Morgan (Lewis Quinn 64), 5 Matt Garrod, 6 Lewis Quinn (Ben Dorrington 41), 7 Toby Harrison ©, 8 Michael Walton (David Fairbrother 31). Non-playing replacement: Chris Rudkin.
PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS: 15 Jacob Brown (Mark Maher 57); 14 Owain Williams, 13 Jake Maher, 12 Sam Russell, 11 Jack Lightowler (Tyler Spence 40); 10 Greg Smith, 9 Joe Harrison; 1 Wade Williams Tom Guest 65), 2 Harry Holden, 3 Tom Guest (Mike Ashdown 28), 4 Alastair Murray, 5 Dec Norrington (Cam Wilkinson 49), 6 Ben O’Ryan (Luke Procter 28), 7 Rob Willetts (Ben O’Ryan 61, Rob Willetts 74), 8 Scott Richardson ©.