.
SEDGLEY PARK 52 FYLDE 27
Sedgley Park’s clear victory over Fylde at Park Lane emphasised their top of the table credentials after nine games and nine wins so far in National Two (North). But Fylde put in a gutsy performance and through their five tries earned a deserved bonus point in what continues to be a tough season for the Woodlands club.
The ‘Tigers’ ran significant parts of the match played in glorious Autumn conditions but Fylde wouldn’t lie down and played some attractive attacking rugby throughout. Once again, occasional mistakes and indiscipline frustrated their efforts to pull back Sedgley’s early lead.
In the first couple of minutes Fylde conceded two penalties in rucks and Sedge took advantage with driving play led by prop Beltus Nonleh who offloaded to centre Joe Bedlow who scored near the posts with ease. Oli Glass converted for a 5-0 lead.
From the restart, it was the turn of Sedgley to offend and Fylde fly-half Slawson kicked for the corner. The lineout was lost and the home side cleared to the halfway line
Referee Allott was in a punctilious mood and three more penalties against Fylde saw them defending their line. Their tackling was fierce but from 10m out Nonleh found a cap in the defence and barrelled through to score under the posts. Glasse’ conversion extended the Sedgley lead to 14-0 and Fylde were struggling to get continuity and territory.
On 21 minutes, the Tigers attacked down their right and enough space was created for winger Freddie Ferguson to squeeze into the corner. The conversion was wide but a 19-0 lead on the scoreboard was depressing for the visitors.
It was time for Fylde to make their attacking presence felt. They attacked down the middle before halfbacks Maguire and Slawson moved the ball right. Left winger Leo Gilliland came into the line and burst through the Sedgley defence in typical fashion from 30m out without a hand being laid on him. Dan Slawson’s attempted conversion drifted wide but at least the visitors were on the scoreboard, 19-5.
It was Sedgley’s turn to experience Mr Allot’s wrath and successive penalties gave Fylde an opportunity to run the ball at the home defence. Good continuity this time saw Slawson move the ball left and a drifted looped pass out wide saw Gilliland burst down the touchline and race in for his second try of the afternoon. The attempted conversion from near the touchline was again wide but 19-10 looked much healthier.
From the restart Slawson kicked long into the Sedgley half but a lineout offence saw Matt Garrod sent to the sin bin and a long penalty kick set up the Tigers deep in Fylde territory. From the subsequent lineout Sedgley set up a driving maul and as it neared the line the ball was worked out to Bedlow who powered over for his 2nd try.
Another Sedge try by flanker Alex Minozzi five minutes later, duly converted by Glasse, gave Sedgley what looked like an overwhelming 33-10 lead at the half-time break. Conceding 14 points in five minutes was a huge blow to Fylde’s attempts to get back in the game.
The 2nd half started in much the same fashion. Play went to and fro but a collapsed scrum on 52 mins led to Glasse kicking for the corner, a critical lineout and hooker Luke Cole being driven over for Sedgley’s sixth try. The conversion attempt from near the touchline was wide but the home side led by 38-10.
From the Fylde re-start kick they earned a penalty which was kicked to the corner. With Matt Garrod back on the pitch, the lineout was driven towards the Sedgley line and hooker Rob Williamson got the touchdown. Dan Slawson’s kick was accurate and the score was now 38-17.
After 64 minutes, the Tigers launched a number of drives at the Fylde line and despite desperate defence prop Danny Rylance drove over from close range to score. Glasse converted for a 45-17 advantage.
Fylde heads didn’t drop and they were soon back deep in the heart of Sedgley’s territory. Pressure on the home line cumulated in centre Aaron Pope breaking the defensive line and scoring his side’s bonus point try. He was injured as a consequence and was replaced by Ben Turner.
On 74 minutes Fylde were adjudged to have committed another penalty 15m from their line and Mike Walton was sinbinned. Replacement forward Adam Mallinson took the kick quickly and drove through a tired Fylde defence. Glasse converted for a 52-22 lead. Curiously, this total was the exact average of Sedgley’s final scores in their previous eight fixtures.
But Fylde were not down and out. They worked their way deep into Tigers’ territory n the 77th minute and launched a number of drives near Sedgley’s try line. Retaining possession patiently, eventually quick hands from Maguire, Slawson and Williams set up Leo Gilliland to score in the left corner, his hat trick try of the day. He was dangerous throughout and, after a few weeks off with an injury, Fylde were delighted to see his outstanding finishing. The attempted conversion was well wide but some pride has been restored with Fylde’s fifth try of the day.
There was just time to set up another Fylde attack in midfield before a cynical late tackle by Rylance saw him trot off to the sinbin. The referee then blew for the end of the game. It was fiercely contested throughout, was more even than the scoreline suggested but, as with other matches this season, Fylde were culpable on the occasions when they had opportunities to get back in the match after falling 19-0 behind so early in the game. There was no lack of commitment on their part in a decent game of National League rugby let down only by the number of penalties conceded by both teams.
Fylde stay in 9th place in N2(N) and will be anxious to earn only their second away win of the season when they visit 8th placed Harrogate on Saturday.
SEDGLEY PARK: 15 Pope N; 14 Hesketh, 13 Lewis, 12 Bedlow, 11 Ferguson; 10 Glass, 9 Winterburn (Tansey 63); 1 Downham (Blanchard 51), 2 Cole, 3 Nonleh (Rylance 51), 4 Birtwell (Downham 74), 5 James, 6 Cox, 7 Minozzi (Oliver 40), 8 Ellam.
FYLDE: 15 Turner (Cassidy 54); 14 Williams, 13 Pope A (Turner 67), 12 Brown, 11 Gilliland; 10 Slawson, 9 Maguire; 1 Hulbert (Bowker 40), 2 Williamson, 3 Rudkin (Hulme 34, Rudkin 74), 4 Wilkinson (Greenwood 51, Marsh 71)), 5 Garrad, 6 Harrison, 7 Marsh (Morgan 51), 8 Walton.