AFC Fylde boss praises his players after they avoided an FA Cup banana skin

Craig Mahon paid tribute to his players and the opposition after watching AFC Fylde secure their place in the first round proper of the FA Cup.

The Coasters began their participation in this season’s competition with a 5-0 defeat of Atherton Collieries at Mill Farm.

Cedric Main led the way with a hat-trick, while goals from Luca Thomas and new loan signing Luke McCormick completed a satisfactory afternoon’s work.

Speaking after last Saturday’s victory, Mahon told club media: “I’m delighted with our performance but huge credit goes to Atherton.

“They deserve appreciation for what they’ve done this season, I think it’s the first time in the club’s history they got to this stage.

“I know they probably would have wanted to come away with something, but we have respected Atherton as much as we could and we’ve put everything into place as we would with any other club.

“For me, the lads did what they needed to do; (a) professional performance and getting into the next round.

“It’s a tough game. They’ve got nothing to lose in a sense and we’ve got all the pressure on us, being a bigger club at that point.

“To start off as quick as we did, Cedric getting the goal, and the way the lads saw the game out as well; it’s everything we would have wanted.

“We’ve come away injury-free, so it’s the perfect day for us getting into the next round.

“Cedric has been biding his time, he’s been waiting for his chance and I’m delighted for him.

“Luca’s been trying so hard to get that goal. He’s done what he needed to do, got his goal and that’s why we took him off at half-time.

“I thought Luke was fantastic when he came on. Some of his runs, his skills, his qualities and attributes that he has were clear to see.

“I feel like he’s only going to get better from now on. He obviously needs more training, more match time and we’re just going to build him up, and we’ll get to see the best of Luke McCormick.

“We had a game plan going into today. We respected Atherton as much as any other club.

“The lads stuck to it brilliantly. Even the second half, when you come out at 3-0 up, you could take your foot off the gas.

“I said at half-time I won’t let them. I will demand quality all the time and, second half, I thought the lads were outstanding.”

The Coasters will now travel to Harrogate Town in round one after they defeated Bury 3-1 in a replay on Tuesday evening.

That is due to be played on the weekend of November 7-8, with the winner also collecting £47,750 in prize money while the loser takes away £15,800.

Before then, Mahon’s players are back in National League action on Saturday when they visit the undefeated leaders, Boreham Wood.

They are seven points clear at the top, having won 11 and drawn two of their 13 matches so far.