Otley 19 v Fylde 18: match report by Simon Taylor
Fylde suffered the agony rather than the ecstasy of sport as they returned from a fierce battle with an in-form Otley with a solitary bonus point to show for a committed and spirited effort. Late drama saw Fylde edge back in front 18-16 with just a few minutes left on the clock only for Otley to knock over a penalty of their own with time nearly up to seal their fourth win on the bounce. Fylde outscored the hosts 2 tries to 1 but the two Otley kickers had a 100% success rate from the tee allowing them to seal the narrowest of wins in a real arm wrestle of a game.
With the weather gods providing an early taste of spring, t-shirt and sunglasses weather meant a fast and sometimes frantic game was made possible. Both teams fielded hard-working packs allied with pacy and inventive back lines and were well matched. Fylde were missing their main source of line out ball with Matt Garrod unavailable, giving Greg Morgan a start at second row. Jordan Dorrington was a welcome return on the wing after over a month out and with Sam Stott unavailable Tom Forster partnered Alex Clayton in the centres. New fly-half Will Hunt made his away debut after 2 home games.
A fast start to the game saw Fylde’s man of the match Tom Forster make the first meaningful line break on 7 minutes, and from the resulting phases Will Hunt took the ball to the line and fed Adam Lanigan a nice inside pass giving him space to scorch over from 20 out. Hunt knocked over the conversion and Fylde were 7-0 up. Otley then had a good period keeping Fylde under pressure in their own 22 for a sustained period and were rewarded with a penalty which scrum half Joe Rowntree kicked to make it 7-3 on 14 minutes. The home team then kept their foot on Fylde’s throat and dominated possession and territory for the next 15 minutes. Stout defence meant Fylde were able to either earn a penalty or force an error just when it looked like the dam would break, as Otley prodded, probed and sometimes pounded the away defence.
On the half hour, Fylde showed their ability to turn defence into attack and strike from deep. With Fylde under more pressure Dave Fairbrother, who just keeps getting better with age, stole the ball at the breakdown and Greg Morgan carried strongly. Quick ball gave speed merchant Freddie Reader space on the left, he chipped the last man, beat the cover to the bouncing ball, and re-gathered to add yet another try to his season’s tally. Hunt’s conversion hit the post but Fylde, having made only 2 visits to the Otley 22, were 12-3 up.
Otley did not panic and stuck to their game plan, monopolising possession, running hard in the forwards, building pressure and then looking to add zip and creativity when they span it. A nice bit of deception in the centres saw them split the Fylde defence on 34 minutes and put winger Sam Taylor in for the try, converted by Rowntree, and they were back in it at 12-10 down. Otley’s pressure was by now relentless, and they had weapons on the bench, Adebowale Ademakin in particular, who was incredibly hard to put down. His strong run right on half time earned Otley another penalty, and Rowntree did the honours again as his kick gave Otley the lead for the first time,13-12 at the break.
Fylde were forced into a change at the break with Lewis Kincart feeling a knock. This meant a re-shuffle of the back line, with the versatile Adam Lanigan moving to scrum half and Cam Smith on to the wing. Unfortunately, the second half started badly for Fylde when a loose pass was intercepted in their own half allowing Otley to set up multiple phases of play. Again, the Fylde defence was robust in repelling the strong Otley runners, but an indiscretion close to the line as the phases mounted saw Fairbrother yellow carded on 44 minutes. Rob King replaced Pete Altham who had gamely carried on despite being in obvious discomfort, and Fylde continued to defend manfully, meaning all Otley had to show for their possession and territory was a 51st minute penalty. With Rowntree having been replaced, full back Callum Irvine slotted this and stretched the Otley lead to 16-12.
With Fairbrother back on the pitch, coach Chris Briers sent on Matt Ashcroft and Freddie Deeks to replace Greg Morgan and Rob Williamson, fresh legs and bodies needed due to the amount of bone crunching defence Fylde were having to do. This was in part due to Fylde lacking the fluency they had shown in the previous 2 weeks, their struggles to build sustained phases of their own meaning they were unable to force Otley to defend themselves for long periods, which would have given them a rest from having to put the big hits in themselves, defence always more tiring than having ball in hand.
In the last 20 minutes Fylde did improve their accuracy and created more pressure of their own, finally stressing Otley into penalties in their own territory. Will Hunt kicked one on 61 minutes to bring Fylde back to within a point at 16-15 down, and things began to get more tense as time ticked down. Both teams were making breaks but either good defence or inaccuracies at crucial moments meant neither could finish off any of these opportunities. Will Hunt saw a drop goal attempt drop short and then a long-range break from Freddie Reader made Otley’s scramble defence offend at the breakdown and gave Hunt another chance on 69 minutes, but his penalty kick drifted just wide. Hunt, was, however, given another chance on 77 minutes when Fylde’s pressure forced another penalty, and this time Hunt was successful, and Fylde were finally back in front at 18-16, with just 7 minutes left.
The challenge now was to manage the re-start and exit effectively. The kick-off was gathered and Fylde set up the short pass and drive option to recycle the ball and run the clock down. Unfortunately, on the last of these, the ball carrier was slightly isolated, Otley got hands on and the referee awarded the penalty for not releasing. It was still a difficult clutch kick from distance and angle, but Irvine showed nerves of steel to send it between the posts and Otley had snatched the lead back at 19-18.
There was time to re-start but Fylde over chased the kick in their efforts to forge a last chance of their own, and Otley were able to break up field, set up a few phases, and kick the ball out with time up. A tight contest which was great entertainment was over. It would be hard to deny that Otley deserved the win for their better accuracy and for having the lion’s share of possession and territory. However, having fought so hard all day, despite lacking fluency, and doing so well to get in front with just a few minutes left, Fylde were left frustrated and disappointed with not being able to see the game out.
Joint head coach Chris Briers commented; “With it being such a close game and us taking the lead so late on, it was a bit deflating to give away a penalty and see them pip us at the post. However, we can’t fault the efforts the lads put in, they worked really hard defensively and put some huge shots in, there were lads out there playing on with knocks. Speaking to the Otley coaches, they were keen to deny us possession as they know what we can do with too much of it. The challenge for us is to manage the game better so we can get the amount of possession we need to hurt the opposition more.”
Fylde remain fourth with 5 games left, the next being Hull at home next week. With third bottom Hull losing on Saturday and the bottom two winning, Hull will come to The Woodlands desperate for victory. With Ladies Day on, England v Wales kicking off at 4.45, and entertainment in the club later, it promises to be a busy day, a healthy crowd supporting Fylde’s efforts to get back to winning ways as they look to secure fourth spot would be appreciated.
Fylde: Reader, Dorrington J, Clayton, Forster, Lanigan, Hunt, Kincart (Smith 40), Fairbrother, Harrison (Captain), Quinn (Dorrington B 74), Morgan (Ashcroft 52), Walton, Altham (King 47), Williamson (Deeks 56), Rudkin
Otley: Irvine, Taylor, Derry, Holmes, Graham, Crossland, Rowntree (Connor), Warren-Lambert, Hodge, Mullin (Ademakin/Lunn), Malthouse, Green, Baxter (Moss), Gibson, Jarman (Nicholls)
