AFC Fylde 2 Farsley Celtic 0: Coasters continue their perfect start

Fylde boss Jim Bentley, back in the dugout following the delay to his heart bypass surgery, made three changes to the team which defeated Kettering Town in midweek.

New man Jack Sampson was among those to come in to make his first start in a Coasters shirt, along with Kurt Willoughby and Blackpool loanee Nathan Shaw.

The visitors got off to an energetic start when Chris Neal was forced into a smart save to deny James Spencer from close range.

The Coasters thought they had taken an eighth minute lead when Willoughby lifted the ball over Farsley keeper Steve Drench, only to be denied by an offside flag.

Fylde came close again with a Danny Philliskirk shot which was saved by Drench, another offside flag dashing any hopes of a follow-up effort.

Fylde continued to press for the breakthrough with Sampson seeing a header well saved before Willoughby was thwarted by another offside decision after getting in behind the defence.

The Coasters had one final chance to open the scoring before half-time when a long ball found Willoughby at the far post, where he was denied impressively by Drench.

With the match still goalless, the second period started in a lively fashion with both sides receiving a booking apiece early on as the game got a little heated.

Sampson headed Shaw’s cross against the woodwork, only to see the offside flag up yet again, before the deadlock was broken on 55 minutes.

Shaw managed to bring down a loose ball inside the Farsley area before finishing confidently to net his first goal for the club.

Farsley, however, almost equalised immediately when Tom Allan headed a corner against the woodwork.

The visitors continued to push for an equaliser and Fylde defender Alex Whitmore was forced to block bravely when Spencer managed to wriggle free.

At the other end, excellent defending from Farsley got the better of Sampson after he had broken the visitors’ offside trap.

Another chance followed as Fylde’s second-half substitutes, Junior Mondal and Ben Tollitt, combined.

Mondal played the ball through to Tollitt, who tried to slide the ball beyond Drench but the keeper got down well to turn the ball behind.

Tollitt was not to be denied however as, late on, he was hauled down on the edge of the area and drove home the resulting free-kick.

Although the visitors threw everybody forward in the closing stages, desperately trying to halve the deficit, all of their efforts were in vain.

AFC Fylde: Neal, Burke, Whitmore, Sanders, Conlan, Philliskirk, Haughton (Mondal 77), Perkins, Shaw, Sampson, Willoughby (Tollitt 62). Subs not used: Hulme, Lussey, Ogle.

Farsley Celtic: Drench, Richards, West (Syers 80), Allan, Ellis, Clayton, B Atkinson (Goldthorp 87), C Atkinson, Spencer, Walton (Charles 69), Johnston. Subs not used: Parkin, Smith-Brown.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here