Otley 20 v Fylde 24: report by Simon Taylor
Fylde maintained their 100% away record this season with their fifth successive road trip victory. It was a case of déjà vu as they travelled down the A59 to Yorkshire to secure a win by the same narrow margin of 4 points as they had done at Wharfedale a fortnight previously. Otley outscored Fylde by three tries to two but Danny Cassidy’s 5 from 6 from the kicking tee helped secure Fylde 4 more precious league points.
Fylde’s preparations were hampered by players with morning work commitments being caught in traffic. A re-shuffle of the published starting line-up and the back line saw James Sutcliffe and Kyle Macaulay step off the bench to start. Fylde fell behind on 5 minutes when they conceded a penalty 30 yards out and Otley Fly Half Joseph Potter bisected the uprights for a 3-0 lead to Otley. Fylde were then guilty of jumping out of the defensive line in the backs allowing a deep break by Otley, rescued by good defence as Otley were held up over the line. Again, Otley threatened only for Ben Turner to intercept and race 60 yards to score under the posts. Danny Cassidy knocked over the conversion and Fylde were perhaps fortunate to be 7-3 up.
Fylde were struggling for fluency and Otley themselves were finding it hard to put imposing patterns of play together. Both teams gave runs of penalties away inviting pressure this way and that, Potter missing with his second kick at goal. On 25 minutes Fylde rotated both props with Rob King and Oli Trippier making way for Pete Altham and Chris Rudkin and on 32 minutes Tom Forster took his place at centre, Macaulay making way as the back line was re-jigged. A Fylde attack broke down allowing Otley to swoop on the loose ball and race 80 yards up field. Fylde scrambled back to force a penalty but missed the kick to touch and then gave a penalty away themselves. Fylde won the ball back, span it left only to turn the ball over at the breakdown and this time the loose ball was returned with a vengeance as debutant winger Freddie Ziegler raced in to score wide out, and Otley had nosed in front 8-7, but not for long, however, as on half-time Fylde won a penalty and Cassidy knocked over a fine long-range kick to take Fylde into the break 10-8 up.
The struggles by both sides to impose themselves on the other continued in the second half and it had the feel of a tense and tight battle. Cassidy knocked over another penalty on 48 minutes to stretch the lead to 13-8 and Matt Ashcroft replaced Lewis Quinn who had put in his usual muscular shift full of hard graft. Fylde then had their best spell although their next score did stem from an error initially when they missed touch with another penalty. Otley returned the ball with interest and missed tackles gave them a real chance, only for Dave Fairbrother to rip the ball in the tackle, and for Otley to concede another penalty. Scrum half Gabe Maguire took a quick tap and weaved this way and that, creating havoc in the home defence. Maguire found Will Hunt in support, his huge miss pass found Ben Turner wide right, and Turner took the ball close to the Otley line, popping the ball as he was tackled, and Ashcroft was on hand to score the try. Cassidy missed his only kick of the day, but Fylde were two scores ahead at 18-8 up on 51 minutes.
Two minutes later a kick out of defence by Fylde invited Otley’s back line to return with interest once more, and this time they made their passes stick, recycling and offloading left to put replacement Charlie Culf over for an unconverted try, and Otley were quickly back within a score 18-13 down. On the hour Pete Altham put a huge midfield hit in to stop an Otley runner in his tracks but paid the price as he was forced to leave the field, Rob King rejoining the fray. Greg Morgan came on for Ben Walton and Trippier came back for his second stint, Sutcliffe making way.
The theme of inability to impose continued for both teams. Fylde had a 5-yard line out but were forced back and penalised at the next breakdown allowing Otley to clear their lines. Fylde dived out of defence twice more leaving overlaps which Otley failed to capitalise on, nerves were being tested and tempers were beginning to fray as two mini scuffles broke out. Otley pressured Fylde into more penalties, kicked for touch and set up an effective catch and drive, smuggling hooker Corey McCormack over for their third try. Daniel Reed slotted a fine conversion and Otley were back in front at 20-18.
Otley made another break but once again turned the ball over and compounded that by giving a high tackle penalty away. The tap and go was spun to Adam Lanigan who made a nice break with support from Alex Clayton, Otley conceding another penalty as they scrambled in defence, their number 8 Scott Irvine shown a yellow card. After turning that and a further kickable penalty opportunity down pragmatism prevailed and Fylde sensibly chose to take the third, and Cassidy nudged them back into the lead 21-20 on 75 minutes. Otley were still getting chances, another defensive dog leg exploited, but once again they could not maintain possession. Cassidy returned the ball in a broken midfield and put Ben Turner away. The cover defence negated the try scoring chance but was deemed foul play and Ziegler was yellow carded. Otley conceded another penalty in their attempts to regain possession and Cassidy put over the kick to stretch the lead to 24-20, meaning Otley would need a try to get back in front.
With time nearly up Fylde just needed to gather the kick off and manage the game out. Gather they did despite Otley getting up and tapping the ball back, as Cassidy read the ball well. It was a sign of the struggles of the day though, as Fylde lost the ball in the next carry then conceded a penalty. Otley kicked to touch, set up the catch and drive and pounded away. Desperate defence kept them out but at the cost of another penalty, cue a second go, and then another penalty. With Fylde creaking it needed a key intervention to keep the home team from snatching the lead back when there would not be time to restart. Up stepped Greg Morgan to get up at the front of the line and tap the ball back, Fylde gathered this and hoofed the ball out, breathing a mighty sigh of relief.
Whilst this was no classic, it was a committed and closely fought affair, due to dogged defence and both teams making too many errors and struggling for fluency and accuracy. Fylde’s midfield defence was breached too often, and a more clinical team would have made them pay. Their goal line defence, however, was fierce and determined, and they found a way to win, after all taking the W and league points home is what matters in the final analysis. Otley made Fylde fight all the way, and showed plenty of character and spirit, fully deserving their bonus point, and no doubt will rue their missed chances.
Danny Cassidy was named Fylde’s man of the match by Otley, dangerous with ball in hand, potent from the kicking tee, and a good reader of the game. Fylde’s joint head coach Alexy Loney commented: “Overall we are happy to have backed up the away win at Wharfedale with another one at Otley, both traditional hotbeds of Yorkshire rugby. They are tough places to come, with committed teams and passionate vocal home support, including the announcer geeing the crowd up. Otley’s counterattack was spot on; they backed each other and rallied well when we had managed to pull away a bit. We did some good things in the game and could maybe have taken more chances but the character of our boys to keep them out three times on our line at the end was outstanding and we are delighted with the win.”
With leaders Sheffield narrowly edging Tynedale away and Macclesfield and DMP both winning Fylde remain in fifth place on 37 points. Next week is a rest week, and Fylde then play Sheffield Tigers at home on the 6th of December, Rossendale away on the 13th, and local rivals Preston Grasshoppers at home on the 20th, league derby day. There are no easy games in this league, but with all those three teams currently in the bottom 5, Fylde will be looking to end the calendar year strongly.
Click here for video coverage of all the scores in the game.
Click here for Otley’s Stephen Lloyd album of photos.
Fylde: Turner, Lanigan, Clayton, Cassidy, Macauley (Forster 32), Hunt, Maguire, Fairbrother, Harrison (Captain), Quinn (Ashcroft 49), Greenwood, Walton B (Morgan 64), King (Rudkin 25), Sutcliffe (Trippier 64), Trippier (Altham 25/King 61)
Otley: Raubitschek, Sarsfield, Derry (Ziegler 15), Holmes, Parnell, Potter (Reed 57), Beanland, Irvine (Culf 30/Malthouse 79), Freeman, Warren-Lambert, Malthouse (Irvine 61), McCormack A, Baxter (Greenald 30/Baxter 59), McCormack C (Howard 30/McCormack C 57), Mudd
