AFC Fylde 0 Carlisle United 2: Coasters beaten in friendly
AFC Fylde's third pre-season friendly ended in defeat on Saturday as Craig Mahon's side were beaten 2-0 by National League side Carlisle United.
Goals from Luke Armstrong and Regan Linney in the first half proved the difference as a number of trialists made appearances for the Coasters.
Carlisle started brightly as David Asiboye neatly back-heeled the ball onto Callum Whelan, who played in Luke Armstrong on the right wing. He cut the ball back for Linney, but his first-time strike was saved by Zac Jones in the opening five minutes.
It was then Fylde’s turn to attack as Ethan Mitchell brilliantly lofted a ball to the left flank, finding Jack Morris. He drove into the penalty area at pace and cut the ball back, but the danger was cut out by a Carlisle defender.
Two minutes later, Carlisle opened the scoring as Armstrong found himself inside the penalty area, managed to hold off his man and struck the ball into the bottom-left corner off the inside of the post.
Despite being a goal behind, there were promising signs for Fylde. Just after the clock hit a quarter of an hour, Taelor O’Kane played an excellent ball between the lines to send Lincoln McFayden flying down the left flank. His cross was a good one towards Omerod in the centre of the penalty area, but it was too high for the striker, and the ball was cleared.
Jones was forced into action again on the half-hour mark to make a smart save at his near post after Fylde lost possession from their own throw.
Less than a minute later, Linney doubled the lead as he collected the ball on the left, cut inside on to his stronger right foot on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a driven shot towards the bottom-left corner, with Jones unable to save.
Early in the second half, Fylde nearly got a goal back as Trialist G almost made his mark after coming on from the bench, his shot from outside the area header towards the roof of the goal, but it was saved brilliantly by goalkeeper Gabe Breeze.
The same trialist once again went close, after he acrobatically back heeled the ball from a cross with a volley, but his shot was saved once again by Breeze.
Fylde now face a quick turnaround once again with a trip to face Bamber Bridge on Tuesday evening.